Boku no Hero Cinema
by Zero Unit RGB
Summary: U.A. has a new assignment for the students and that's to film their very own movie! Each of our aspiring heroes gets excited to bring this fairy tale to life on screen but as the shooting goes on, a sinister shadow looms closer, waiting for the perfect chance to pounce and exact their revenge. Read, enjoy, and review! I'm on Ao3 and Tumblr as ZeroUnitRGB.
1. Prologue

It'd been a long while since the students heard anything from or about the dastardly League of Villains or any other group of the like. So they'd been living their daily lives, studying hard as they always do. Or at least as most of them do. But starting on that particular day, the principal of the prestigious U.A. High School had something different in mind for their lesson plan.

Principal Nezu figured that since people were still shaken up from the last attack, they should do something fun. And Mic wanted new content for his blog.

"Today, we have something special for all of you," said Aizawa. "You kids are going to be producing and starring in a film. The final product of which will be posted on U.A.'s official blog with your and your parents' permission, of course."

Immediately, the entire room erupted into a variety of enthusiastic declarations. Aoyama wanted to be cast as the main character, Mineta was hoping to hire a sexy high profile movie star, and Hagakure was excited to be seen on screen since she felt she missed her chance with the USJ invasion. Tokoyami hoped to make it a horror movie while Ashido was pushing for a romantic comedy plot. But even if they were excited about the prospect, there was one glaring question on all of their minds.

"Sensei!" Iida called out, raising his hand straight and high above his head. "What does filming a movie have to do with being a pro hero?"

The others got quiet, silently thanking their class rep for asking and patiently waiting for the answer.

Aizawa let out a tired sigh, pausing in the middle of getting into his sleeping bag. "As heroes, pro or not, you kids will be interviewed by the media or will have to hold press conferences in the future and even if you don't like it, sometimes, you'll have to play a certain role. There are many heroes who have created personas for themselves when the cameras are on them. Of course, that isn't to say that heroes lie to the public either. You all need to find your boundary and acting can help with that."

Iida bowed respectfully. "Of course! Forgive my rude interruption!"

Todoroki put a hand to his chin in thought, thinking about how his father probably never paid attention this lesson if he got it. "I should do my best…," he muttered to himself.

"So learning about the acting industry is to help with character creation," said Yaoyorozu.

"That won't be necessary for me," Kirishima grinned, leaning back in his seat. "I'm already cool and charismatic."

Ashido grinned and looked over at him. "Is that right?"

All of Kirishima's confidence seemed to evaporate as he remembered that she knew what he was like before high school. "Well… in any case," he said, turning his attention over to Bakugou, "we all know someone who definitely needs this lesson."

"Fuck off!" Bakugou snapped. "If anyone doesn't like the way I act, then they can go die."

Kirishima shook his head. "That's exactly the kind of thing the media will crucify you for, man."

In the meantime, Midoriya was frantically taking notes on this. Now that he thought about it, before All Might retired as number one hero, he was always putting on an act whenever a camera was on him. It was, of course, to maintain the aura of the symbol of hope but other heroes must've done it too. There were days when they were frustrated or things weren't going right but they still had to put on their best smile for the press.

Being a hero in today's society depended on popularity as well as rescues and fighting, after all.

"Of course, I can't help you with that," Aizawa continued. "So we invited a director to handle things."

"Ohh!" The excitement had returned once again.

"Is it someone famous?" asked Kaminari.

Uraraka clapped her hands together. "I wonder what kind of movie we'll be making!"

"Oui, I will be the star!" Aoyama sparkled. "Of this, I am certain!"

The massive door suddenly slid open and in popped the head of a smiling anthropomorphic panda bear dressed in a brown sweater and jeans. The most notable things about him were the fact that he had a black handlebar mustache and was wearing a hot pink beret. Was this guy's Quirk: Panda? He can do everything a panda can?

"Good morning!" the panda greeted them cheerfully, in an unfitting manly voice. He marched up to the front of the class. "My name is Kantoku but you can just call me Director!" (Director = Kantoku) He began cracking up as if he had just told the best joke in the world.

Sero leaned over to Satou and whispered, "I'm guessing he doesn't do comedy movies."

"Now then!" said Kantoku, clapping his furry paws together. So it was less of a clap and more of pomf. "As your teacher has already informed you, I will be your director so…" He raised up his hands, shaping them into that of a rectangle which he looked through as he panned over the class. "I need my stars for this fairy tale come to life."

Uraraka let out a delighted gasp. "Fairy tale?!" She leapt up in her seat. "Please, Kantoku, let me play the princess!"

"Rejected!"

"But why?!"

Kantoku raised a hand, gesturing for her to settle down. "I know about all of you from the Sports Festival and I've already figured out everyone's roles."

They were each given a folder which contained a copy of the script and list of their individually assigned parts. But before they got the chance to look, they were told to go down to the bus to be taken to an exclusive studio designated just for filming. It was a special dome that could change into any set they needed. ("As expected of U.A.," Iida had said.) All Might would be waiting for them there. So, to pass the time on the bus, everyone was getting to know their roles.

 **Todoroki Shoto — Hiro (the Hero)**

 **Yaoyorozu Momo — Himekawa (the Princess)**

 **Bakugou Katsuki — Maou-sama (the Villain)**

"Those three have the most lines," explained Kantoku. "I chose you three based on your looks, background, and personality."

No one was surprised by who got what part although a few of them were disappointed in not getting either leading roles. Bakugou was rather calm when he found out that he was the bad guy. Mostly because he kept picturing himself beating up Todoroki in an actual fair and square match. The very thought was satisfying to him even if that wouldn't be the case.

 **Uraraka Ochaco & Asui Tsuyu — Lilly & Milly (the Handmaidens) **

**Midoriya Izuku — Tomoda (the Hero's Childhood Friend)**

 **Iida Tenya — Naito (the Head of Guard)**

Uraraka pressed the side of her head against the window of the bus as she blankly stared at the passing scenery. Her entire body seemed to have gone completely pale and for a moment, everyone thought they saw something wispy escaping her from her chest. "This feels like an always the bridesmaid, never the bride situation."

Tsuyu gently consoled her friend. "You're a princess to me, Ochaco-chan, ribbit."

"Sorry," said Yaoyorozu even though she had no control over who got what part.

Midoriya couldn't help but question the part that he got. Was it because of the fact that he made that whole speech to Todoroki during their match at the Festival? More importantly, could he play the part well? He'd never acted before. "The… childhood friend?"

"Supporting roles to the hero and heroine, of course," said Kantoku. "The friend has his own fight scene with one of the villain's goons and I thought your Quirk would be best suited for the job, kid." Then there was a pause. "That is, so long as you know how to control it. Can't have you getting hurt on set, we don't have insurance." Once again, cracking up at his own joke.

"Ah… yeah, I can control it," Midoriya nodded. _Not higher than twenty percent though._

 **Kirishima Eijirou & Shouji Mezo — Aku & Abu (the Villain's Henchman) **

**Tokoyami Fumikage/Dark Shadow — Lord Shadow (the Evil Entity that's actually pulling the strings)**

 **Aoyama Yuga — Prince Ren of the Ai Kingdom (the Princess's Suitor)**

"Hold on," said Tokoyami. "Am I even the one playing this role?"

Kantoku seemed puzzled by the question. "You're the one with the… ventriloquism Quirk right? We need that dummy of yours to play the evil entity."

Dark Shadow popped out from Tokoyami's stomach. "Hey! Who are you calling dummy!"

"Yes, that's it!" cheered Kantoku. "That's exactly how you should play the role!" He then looked over the others that had just discovered their assignments. "And as you can guess, all of you will be playing antagonists as well."

"So I just stand around while Dark Shadow does the work…," Tokoyami muttered.

Shouji, seated beside him, used one of his arms to pat his friend on the back. "It could be worse. Look at what everyone else is doing."

 **Kaminari Denki — Lighting**

 **Jirou Kyouka — Sound Effects**

 **Koda Koji & Hagakure Tooru — Special Effects**

 **Ojiro Mashirao — Boom Mic Holder**

 **Satou Rikido — Catering**

 **Ashido Mina, Mineta Minoru, & Sero Hanta — Extras **

"EHHHH?!"

"Extras?!" the last three cried out before hanging their heads in disappointment. They began emanating this dark, hazy aura that was practically tangible and it was starting to depress everyone else on the bus. "So Bakugou called it right all along…"

Jirou let out a sigh in relief. "This is actually perfect for me."

"Yeah for you," Kaminari groaned. "Man, chicks never go for the guy behind the scenes."

Ojiro was simultaneously disappointed and unsurprised by this. "So all I have to do is hold up the mic huh…"

"Catering," Satou read. "So does this mean there's a kitchen?"

They all started going over the script to familiarize themselves a little bit with their roles. They had a whole two weeks to shoot this after regular class time so it's not like they were in any rush. But Kantoku didn't want filming to be delayed by even a day so everyone should be prepared. It was actually a very interesting plot.

The princess was in love with the hero but due to their difference in class, they couldn't marry. The king brought in a wealthy suitor from another land but she refused to wed with him. The villain wanted to become the king so he intended on marrying the princess himself. After the hero defeats the villain, the evil entity is revealed to the good guys and it possesses the suitor and goes crazy. That's when the hero and villain team up to take him down.

Both Bakugou and Todoroki felt that that would be too easy in real life. After all, Dark Shadow's weakness was light.

At some point while reciting lines with each other, Mineta threw one of his sticky balls at Todoroki because he read about the kiss scene.

Yaoyorozu's entire face was cherry red when they got there. "H-Hold on, K-Kantoku-san, this doesn't actually have to happen, does it?" She noticed her co-star staring at her expectantly. "N-N-Not that I don't want to kiss you, To-To-To-Todoroki-kun!"

Suddenly, Aizawa, still cocooned in his sleeping bag, looked back from the front seat. "Ah, I'm against it too. So we compromised."

"We're going to use convenient placement to block the kiss," explained Kantoku. "You guys just have to lean in close enough to create the illusion."

"Eh? I think they should kiss for real," said Hagakure.

"Right!" Kantoku shouted so loudly and passionately that everyone in the bus recoiled, becoming silent and wide-eyed. "It may be just a movie but you must put everything into it! Isn't that what it means to be heroes too? If you don't give it your all, a life will be lost!"

There was a long stretch of silence before Kirishima leaned forward. "Are we still talking about movies here?"

"Movies can save lives too!"

At that moment, the bus pulled up to the dome which was on the right side. Midoriya smiled greatly when he saw All Might waving to them from the front door. But it vanished quickly, getting replaced with one of shock when he saw that his hero was holding onto a leash in his other hand, and attached to it was a doe.

Everyone on that side of the vehicle noticed as well.

"A deer?!"

Koda was the only one who had said those two words in a happy tone. Actually, he sounded downright thrilled about it. But in the silence that followed, everyone came to the realization that this was the first time they had actually heard his child-like voice. Well, except for Jirou who heard it during their practical exam when fighting Present Mic.

"Ah," the class blinked in unison. "He talked."

Koda hid his burning red face behind his hands.

 _He's so cute_ , most ofthe class thought.

"Oh that's right," said Kantoku as the bus came to a full stop. "The reason why I had Koda Koji-kun on special effects is because we need woodland animals around the princess for certain scenes. We also have a few scenes where the villain and hero are on horseback so it would be easiest to have his Quirk help us with that."

When Koda heard that, he uncovered his face, a big smile and glitters surrounding his head brighter than even what Aoyama could produce. He was already happy to be working behind the scenes since he didn't want to be on camera but to be working with animals was like handing him a Christmas present every day for the rest of his life. Once again, everyone couldn't help thinking about how adorable their classmate was.

 _We must protect his purity,_ they all thought.

"What about me?" asked Hagakure.

"You're to hold up certain objects like a kuroko in a play," Kantoku replied. "But of course, since you're invisible, it'll be far more effective."

"So I do get to be on screen?" Hagakure gasped.

Shouji blinked a few times. "But you won't be noticeable at all."

"Shouji-kun," said Tsuyu. "You can be a little too blunt at times, ribbit."

The class stepped out and greeted All Might respectfully. Immediately after welcoming the students to the studio, All Might asked Koda to handle the doe, handing off the leash. Their teacher then explained that he had physically gone out and caught her in the woods so she had no intention of listening to him.

"This is a famous film studio," said All Might, gesturing to the dome. "Many well-known actors and actresses made their debut here."

They entered the dome to find that the first set was already made. It was like the courtyard of a vast castle with a massive marble fountain in the center of the fake grass and flowers. There was a lot of empty space around them but it seemed they only needed to use current area which might have only been a hundredth of the full size of the dome. All Might explained that it was so that many movies can be shot there at once. Their dressing rooms were to the right of the entrance.

Everyone gathered around the high tech equipment. The camera attached to a crane so that they could take shots various angles, the lights hanging directly over the set, and a soundboard which Jirou admired with great care. Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Midoriya who were in the first scene, were told to change into their costumes. Apparently, their sizes were taken from their hero costume information.

"Oh, one more thing," said Kantoku. He turned over to Aizawa. "I need you to play the king. I'd ask All Might but he looks like he belongs in a zombie flick."

"Ack!" All Might coughed up blood.

"Hm?" Ashido looked over at Uraraka. "Now that I think about it… that day when everyone was turned into zombies, wasn't there a stranger...?"

A moment of recognition passed over the other girl. "Ah!"

The pair bowed at perfect ninety degree angles to All Might. "We are so sorry for calling you a zombie, All Might-sensei!"

"Ah, it's fine," said All Might. "To be completely honest, I had completely forgotten until you mentioned it."

In the meantime, Aizawa had molted out of his sleeping bag. As EraserHead, he completely avoided the press since he didn't like having his face plastered everywhere. He was lucky to have a job as a teacher so he didn't need to be paid by pro hero agencies in order to get by. "You should ask someone else," he said. "I don't like cameras. How about Present Mic? He loves the spotlight."

"The king character is stern and tough," explained Kantoku. "The way you forbade the kiss scene made me think you were perfect for the role!"

Aizawa let out a sigh. He looked over Class A, each of them radiating their own levels of excitement for this project, and he thought about how this was for their education. Then he looked back at the director and said with a sigh, "Where's my costume?"

In a room, a group of people watched Class A mill about the set, clueless to the fact that they were being watched. Their target wasn't the students though. It wasn't even All Might. Rather, the person they wanted to erase from the world was… EraserHead, Aizawa Shota.


	2. Lights, Camera!

When Yaoyorozu stepped out of her dressing room, every eye was on her. The regal flowing, crimson gown edged with gold was a perfect fit for her. Her hair, which was still done up in a ponytail, fell in soft, wavy curls that bounced with each step she took. Her posture was straight, her head held high, and her silk-gloved hands were delicately folded in front of her.

"Wow," said Kaminari. "I've met girls out of my league before but… wow.

"Yao-Momo, you look gorgeous!" Hagakure gushed.

Uraraka had a weak smile as she stared at the dress. Even though it was made in a short amount of time with someone's Sewing Quirk, it looked like it cost over one hundred million yen. And even though she wasn't considered for the role, she felt like she had been so close to wearing it herself.

"I've been transported," said Uraraka, "to a real fairy tale."

"Uwah!" Iida yelped. "Uraraka, d—don't pass out!"

Yaoyorozu brushed the few strands of hair out of the right side of her face. "It's a little embarrassing but I really do feel like… a princess."

"You're going to be great," said Jirou. "I'm also in charge of editing so I'll make sure of it."

In contrast with the princess were Todoroki and Midoriya who were supposed to be dressed in peasant clothes from Europe's middle ages. Slightly too big tunics and brown medieval vests that seemed to have just been dropped over their shoulders. Bakugou had a rather large smirk on his face as he stared at the way they examined their outfits.

"I'm not wearing it backwards am I?" Midoriya asked.

Todoroki wasn't sure himself. "You should tighten the belt. Your pants are sliding down."

"Ah! You're right!"

Kantoku left the pair trying to fix their costumes for one another while he focused on the film crew. Ojiro had the physical capability of holding the mic but for too long, he would start drooping. So he had to take breaks every so often. But Jirou confirmed that the sound quality was good at least. The only issue came from above.

"No, no, no!" Kantoku snapped. He raised the bullhorn to his mouth and shouted, causing everyone to cover their ears. "I said _natural_ morning lighting! This is obviously the lighting they use in cafes and diners to translate homeyness!"

Kaminari squatted down on top of the catwalk, sticking his head out from between the railings to glare at the panda. "I'm trying my best but I don't know anything about lights!"

"But your name is Denki!" (Denki = Electricity)

"Are you saying you gave me this job because of my name?!"

All Might quickly climbed up there to help his dear student. Once the set was complete, the actors were told were to position themselves. Yaoyorozu was supposed to start, sitting on the fountain, looking down at her reflection. Bluebirds and red robins were supposed to fly around her, as if trying to communicate with her.

"Koda Koji-kun," the director called. "Are the… birds…?"

Everyone looked over to their quiet classmate, noticing that he was surrounded by animals from all sides. The delicate feathers of the avians brushed over his face, the wet nose of the doe bopping his shoulder, and the bunnies hopped around near his feet. The boy's eyes were closed and he had this perfectly content smile on his face as he wobbled back and forth, trapped in a daydream of his own.

"Yaoyorozu may be the princess," said Ojiro, "but Koda is a Disney princess."

Hagakure nodded in agreement, her whole body moving along with her invisible head. "No doubt about that."

Kantoku wanted to do more yelling but if he did that, the animals would most certainly get scared and run off. So they had Aizawa ask Koda to get the birds over to Yaoyorozu. A basic threat of a lowered grade could convince most students to get their job done.

"Okay, we are finally ready!" said Kantoku. "You, extra!"

Sero grimaced as he held up the clapboard in front of the camera. With a heavy sigh, he said, "Scene one, take one."

"Action!"

Instantly, the birds took off, causing Yaoyorozu to yelp in surprise. Kaminari stumbled backwards, falling onto his back and hitting his head against a bar. One of the lights came loose and suddenly fell, coming right for the princess's head. Those nearby immediately sprang into action, ready to save her but then a thin wire lashed out rapidly, smashing the light and knocking it away. It skidded across the set, stopping against the wall.

"Jirou-san, thank you," Yaoyorozu sighed in relief.

The sound editor gave her friend a thumbs-up. "No problem."

"The light!" Kantoku cried out. "The animals! Oh, what a disaster!" They watched their esteemed director fall to the floor, face-flat and start bawling about how the movie was ruined right from day one. Almost everyone was torn between thinking that he was pathetic and feeling sorry for him.

"I can create another light," said Yaoyorozu, getting to work immediately as she removed the gloves.

"Littles ones!" Koda called, bringing the birds back. Then he looked over to the director, for the first time since everyone met him, not as timid as they knew him to always be. "Kantoku… you need to be quieter so the animals don't flee."

"Koda-kun has a surprisingly stern side when it comes to animals," Tsuyu remarked.

Tokoyami nodded in agreement. "To the mistreatment of them in any case."

Midoriya stared at the pair, the ones in their class that looked most like ordinary animals. One having a literal Frog Quirk and the other having been born with the head of a raven. "Why do I feel like they're saying not to mistreat them?"

Everyone got back to their initial positions. Sero called for take two and the stage got quiet as they watched closely.

Yaoyorozu swallowed her nerves before starting. "Hiro, if only there were no law forbidding our love." She delicately raised a hand, allowing a robin to perch onto her finger, a forlorn expression on her face. "Had I been born a peasant or you, a prince, then my father would not be a wall standing in between us."

"Wow," said Kirishima. "If she wasn't beautiful before…"

Uraraka shushed him before returning her undivided attention to the magic unfolding before her. "The princess is talking."

Top of her class during the Quirk Apprehension Test, for being able to use her abilities in unique and creative ways and having the best control over it. Top of her class in grades, needing intelligence in order to use her powers to begin with, even carrying an encyclopedia on her hero costume. Now she had the whole class's eyes on her as she performed as a true princess.

Tsuyu stood off to the side, near Ojiro so that her voice could carry into the mic. She had an offscreen line in this scene. "Princess, ribbit!"

"Cut!"

Once again, the animals dispersed. This time, Yaoyorozu was fine as Koda quickly called them back together.

Tsuyu looked over at the director. "Is something wrong, ribbit?"

"Well," Kantoku let out a sigh. "It's your suffix. It's adorable, but the maid doesn't say ribbit at the end of her lines."

Tsuyu nodded. "I understand, Kantoku, ribbit. I will try better, ribbit."

The class had noticed that their director's personality had changed when he started directing. There was a lot more aggression in his words and actions. So it was clear to them just how passionate he was about making movies. Everyone felt like they couldn't disappoint someone who was working so hard on a film when they were doing the same to become heroes.

"Princess!" Tsuyu called, holding her tongue. "Hiro-san is here to see you!"

Yaoyorozu stood up from the fountain just as Todoroki entered the scene, running with great urgency as it said in the script. The love interests were supposed to embrace each other lovingly, like a long distance couple seeing each other after months apart. Everyone was watching closely, waiting for it as they were less than ten centimeters away from each other. Would one back out? Would one hesitate?

But to everyone's surprise, the scene was pulled off perfectly. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu held each other close, expressing how they had longed to see one another before pulling away and sitting together on the fountain. Midoriya waltzed into frame not long after, looking around nervously as though the guards would toss him out. So like the couple, he was playing his role rather well.

Midoriya had his own mental process for acting this part. _Think of it like that time Shigaraki Tomura had you at the mall._

"Hiro-san," said Yaoyorozu. "It's dangerous for you to be here. If my father found out…"

"I don't care what my father thinks," said Todoroki.

"Cut!" Kantoku was making the most puzzled expression. "Uh… Todoroki Shoto-kun, it's _her_ father, not yours."

Todoroki blinked. "Did I not say that?"

The whole class, hidden in shadow, shook their heads. Todoroki put a hand to his chin, thinking that he definitely said the line right. With a deadpan expression, he promised to do better. Everyone was still massively impressed that someone like him could make so many emotions outside of stoicism. To Bakugou, it was even funnier than seeing Camie create her illusions.

After that, the scene went off without a hitch. Everyone was able to perform their roles really well so they quickly moved on to the transition.

Iida, dressed in a full suit of armor, rushed into scene at top speed. "Princess Himekawa! The King is looking for you!"

The set was changed so that it looked like the inside of a throne room, with a crimson carpet leading right up to the grand gilded chair. Aizawa changed into the royal robes, placing a crown on his head after he had pulled his hair up into a ponytail. With the makeup on to cover up the dark circles under his eyes, he didn't look as haggard as he always does.

"Scene two, take one!"

"Action!"

On screen, Aizawa whipped around, the cape he wore flapping as he pivoted with a dramatic flourish. The way he spun was the exact same way he moved when writing on the chalkboard but then hearing a student say something when they weren't supposed to speak. Even the expression he made carried the same ferocity and sternness as it did in the classroom, causing everyone to freeze up in fear, wondering who was going to get it this time.

Ashido, Kirishima, and Sero instinctively covered their faces. It was usually one of them or Kaminari that would take the brunt of his sharpshooting, chalk throwing to the forehead. But they relaxed once Yaoyorozu stepped in. She never got in trouble. But she was supposed to be a little scared in this scene which she portrayed well by imagining herself as one of the troublemakers.

"You asked for me, Father?" Yaoyorozu inquired.

Their teacher slowly advanced towards his student. "Where were you?"

Looking down, she answered in a quiet voice, "The courtyard."

"With whom?"

Everyone was completely enthralled in the scene as the pair began arguing with one another. It felt so real that some of them almost believed that Aizawa and Yaoyorozu were father and daughter. The intensity in their gazes, their emotions, their deliveries, it was practically tangible. Kantoku, beside the camera, was actually beginning to tear up.

"Amazing," whispered Kantoku. "So incredibly amazing."

Hagakure was leaning closer without trying to disturb the set. "Who would've thought Aizawa-sensei could act."

"For someone who hates cameras," said Shouji. "It is rather impressive."

"A suitor?!" Yaoyorozu cried out. "Father, how can you force me to marry a man I do not love?"

Aizawa slammed his hands against the armrests of the throne as he stood, creating a thunderclap that caused all to tense up. "How can you disobey my orders?!"

Yaoyorozu, eyes watering which she was able to create on command using her Quirk, picked up her dress and took off running off screen. In the camera's lens, Aizawa dropped down into the chair, a hand covering his eyes. The class was beyond impressed when the scene came to a close.

Kantoku shot up. "Incredible! You two are true professionals!"

"Thank you," Yaoyorozu bowed, her cheeks flushed. "Aizawa-sensei, you were amazing."

"It wasn't a problem, you did better than I," said Aizawa.

As the set changed for the next scene, everyone breaked for lunch. Satou and Mineta carried out the trays one by one and everyone was ready to dig in. The spread already smelled amazing with sugar doughnuts, chocolate pudding, strawberry-iced cupcakes, blueberry muffins, and a massive cake. It was all desserts!

"Are you trying to fatten us up?!" Kaminari cried out.

"As soon as I saw the oven, I got carried away," Satou confessed. "Don't worry, I've got two rotisserie chickens in the kitchen."

In English, Kantoku said, "Chicken in kitchen." Then he burst into laughter.

"Ah, his original personality is back," Midoriya noted.

Even though it was all sweets, no one seemed to mind too much. Mostly because as soon as they sank their teeth into the food, they were transported to a whole other plane of deliciousness. The girls, except for Tsuyu, looked like they were put into a hypnotic trance with drool going down the corners of their lips as they savored each taste.

"They're like zombies," Ojiro remarked.

Mineta narrowed his eyes on Satou. "Hey, you're not the kind of pervert that's into _that_ kind of thing, are you?"

"You truly are scum," was the reply from Satou. "Only you could think of crap like that."

While they were eating, the director was going over the script in his chair. Ashido, mouth filled with cookie crumbs, approached him with her own copy. If she couldn't contribute on screen then she would have to help in some other ways, liking editing the script a bit.

"Kantoku," she said. "You're an absolute genius for writing this."

"Oh, why thank you," the bear replied.

"But I think we can make it better." Ashido flipped to the scene they were going to be shooting after lunch. The one where Todoroki and Midoriya were supposed to be walking together through the village streets, talking about things and reminiscing about other things. "So here, Midoriya says that he's always worried about Todoroki's secret relationship. What if he was jealous and wanted Todoroki all to himself?"

The history between their characters was that Hiro's parents were killed at a young age. For a while, he tried to live on his own on the streets but it was difficult. It was during that time when he first met the princess. She offered him bread before being grabbed by the arm and taken away by her father. That was the moment they fell in love.

As for Tomoda, one day, he was going home from school in the heavy rain when he saw Hiro. The two ended up living together because Tomoda's parents were willing to take the homeless boy in. After that, they were inseparable.

"See where I'm going with this?" Ashido grinned.

Kantoku nodded along before saying flatly, "No."

"What? But why?"

"Love triangles are _so_ last year," explained Kantoku. "Not to mention they're tacky and frustrating to watch on screen."

Ashido had to admit that that was often the case when she encountered romance plots with multiple love interests. "Fair enough…"

For that scene, the entire floor became a bustling medieval town with cobblestone roads and signs that read 'Shoppe.' There were dozens of extras milling about including Ashido, Sero, and Mineta. The last three were allowed to be in the camera for as much as they wanted so long as they didn't interfere with the two stars for the scene or did anything distracting.

"Nervous, Midoriya?" asked Todoroki.

The smaller boy nodded. "A little, but I'll be fine. Let's do our best, Todoroki."

"Mm," Todoroki smiled. "We can't let sensei and Yaoyorozu-san steal all the spotlight."

It was a simple, casual scene that was difficult to mess up unless they forgot their lines. But the pair knew how to study so they easily memorized their dialogue and stage actions. Pausing in the right spots and getting the right inflection. Since there wasn't as much emotion as in the previous scene, it didn't enrapture anyone but there was no denying that they put on a very convincing performance.

"By the way," said Midoriya, as they continued to walk aimlessly, the camera following them. "Did you hear the rumors about Maou?"

Todoroki tossed an apple up into the air and caught it, taking a bite out of it. "That wicked demon in the north? What about him?"

"People are saying that he wants to take over the kingdom."

"Well, he better not get close to Princess Himekawa." Todoroki held the fruit up to eye level, using his ice powers to slowly freeze the juice inside and make it brittle. Gripping it tightly, he broke it into pieces. "I'll be sure to crush him if he does."

"Hiro-chan," said Midoriya. "You can be scary when it comes to someone hurting Himekawa-sama."

Todoroki grinned. "Am I really?"

"And scene!" Kantoku shouted. "Ah, how refreshing. You two were great, zero retakes. That's what we should all strive for!"

The next scene and the final one for the day would introduce the villains. Bakugou, Kirishima, and Shouji were getting into costume and makeup. When they came out of their dressing room, they really did look like evildoers. Especially with Shouji unmasked, when he parted his lips, rows of razor sharp teeth would be revealed. He apparently wore the mask in the first place because he had been told at a young age that his face was scary, and more suitable for a villain so he chose to cover up since he didn't want that.

"Man, even you have a self-conscious side?" said Kirishima.

Shouji shrugged. "Well, in our current society of heroes, we need to be popular too, right? I don't want to scare people off."

"Out of the way!" Bakugou pushed past between them, deliberately knocking into their shoulders as he made his way into the set and getting into position, his black cape following right behind him. "I'll get this done better than that half-and-half bastard and damn nerd!"

"I knew I cast the right person for the villain," said Kantoku.

"Scene four, take one!"

"Action!"

Bakugou was supposed to do a parallel performance of Aizawa's character by whipping around to face the audience like the king had. Except, instead of carrying an air of strict authority, he was supposed to glare directly into the camera lens and say, "I'll kill them!"

"Cut!" Kantoku stumbled out of his chair, nearly falling to his knees. "Bakugou Katsuki-kun, the line is, 'I shall be king,' not… not… oh jeez."

"Kacchan," Midoriya muttered.

"It was believable at least," said Uraraka.

"But he clearly wasn't acting," Iida added, shaking his head.

They ended up redoing the scene about five more times before Kantoku flung the bullhorn to the floor and fell to the ground, head in hands. Bakugou was frustrated as well. Tiny explosions were going off in the palm of his hand and if they weren't careful, he was going to end up destroying something on set. So before things could escalate, Kirishima offered to talk to Bakugou one on one.

They watched the spiky-haired pair walk off on their own. It was difficult to tell what they were saying but before long they returned to the others.

"I'll say the lines, you stupid panda," said Bakugou. "So get up and do your job."

Hagakure leaned in close to Shouji. "Hey, I know you were listening, what did they say?"

The answer was pretty obvious. Because of Bakugou, shooting was getting stalled so he shouldn't try to improvise just to increase the drama. Besides, if Bakugou were to keep misbehaving, then both Midoriya and Todoroki would be unquestionably better at something. It was a rather simple way of persuading Bakugou to just follow the script.

The scene was going well. The villains got their parts right. Then, towards the end, Dark Shadow made his appearance.

"Maou!"

"Cut!"

Bakugou almost threw a fit. "What now?!"

"I don't think it was your fault this time," said Kirishima.

Kantoku scratched the back of his head before walking over to Tokoyami. Everyone was surprised since he didn't have to do anything other than be the host to his Quirk. There was no way that he could've possibly messed something up.

"Don't do the voice for your dummy," said Kantoku. "Use your normal voice, it's lower and cooler."

If Tokoyami had lips, he'd be pursing them in agitation. "For the last time, it's not a Ventriloquism Quirk!"

"And I'm not a dummy!" Dark Shadow snapped.

Ashido suddenly slid right in between them, using her non-corrosive acid to appear there at the fastest speed she could. "What if the evil entity was…?" She spun around and suddenly, there was Bakugou's black cape draped over her shoulders. Even the original wearer didn't know how she got her hands on it. "An alien queen!"

Dark Shadow took a closer look at her face. "Where did she get the vampire fangs?"

Kantoku raised his bullhorn, pointing it at Ashido and Tokoyami. "That would be a completely different genre! Now work properly!"

Their first day of shooting was tough on everyone, they were completely exhausted once they were allowed to go home. But at the same time, everyone was excited to see the final product when they finished. They talked about their individual roles and how much fun it was. Many of them went up to tell Aizawa what a good job he did as the king. Even All Might was gushing over it endlessly.

"My arms are so sore," Ojiro groaned, rotating his joints.

Satou raised a platter of leftovers. "Need some more energy?"

"Shouji," called Tokoyami. "I really don't think your face is scary. If anything I find it to be maddeningly beautiful."

The six-armed student chuckled lightly. "I'm not surprised to hear you say that, Tokoyami."

"Hey, Yaoyorozu," said Jirou, holding up her phone. "You don't mind if I have this photo of you as my wallpaper, right?"

"J-J-Jirou-san! Delete that right now!" Yaoyorozu was as red as her dress.

Hagakure quickly appeared between them. "Princess Yao-Momo! Hey, Jirou, send me that pic!"

"To me too!" said Kaminari.

"Should I photoshop my head onto it?" Uraraka wondered aloud.

"Uraraka!" Midoriya yelped. "You're foaming at the mouth!"

Kantoku watched as the kids piled into the bus to be taken back to campus for the night. He raised the last muffin from the catering table up to his face but didn't take a bite out of it, just crushed it into dry crumbs. "I do hope you're all having fun, class A. Because I'll have my revenge on that EraserHead by taking away the thing he cares about most… all of you."

The panda flipped over to the last page of his script. Different from the ones he gave the students. In the final scene, all the students of class A perish.


	3. And Action!

Those two weeks went by in a blur. Everyone was working hard in class and out of it. They messed up their lines, had some random equipment failures, ate something bad because Satou didn't realize it was expired, and didn't hit their marks. But they were having fun overall. On the last day, they just had three more scenes to shoot and then it would be spliced together.

"Hey check it out!" Hagakure called. "Jirou put together the first scene we did!"

"Ohh!"

It was one thing to act it out or watch it happen live on set. But to actually see yourself become another person entirely on screen was an almost surreal experience. Yaoyorozu had to hide her red face behind her hands when her character ran up and embraced Todoroki. It was so much more embarrassing to watch than actually having to do it. Probably because it meant that others were going to see it.

"Oh gosh," she muttered. "And the wedding scene is today… how am I supposed to get through that without imploding?"

Todoroki placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. You've had the least retakes out of everyone here."

"Yeah, you're the best, Yao-Momo!" Kaminari added.

"Truly an exemplary performance every time!" Iida nodded.

"You're one to talk," said Kirishima. "You got so into your role that you were talking like a medieval knight in the dorms."

The extras had a pained look on their faces as they listened to their classmates discuss the next few scenes. Ashido had tried almost every day to suggest an edit that would somehow get her on the foreground. But the most she could do was one minor line which was expected.

Since it was their last day of shooting, there would be no point in trying to change anything. Except Ashido was still not ready to give up. The previous night, she printed out new versions of the script in which she was the reverend for the wedding scene. One that would break dance for the ending credits. It would leave an impression on viewers even if it was only a minute's worth of screentime.

"Ashido, what are you doing?" Sero hissed.

"Replacing the director's script," Ashido whispered back. "Now go away."

Mineta swiped the new document from the girl's hands, flipping all the way to the end. "Wha—?! You didn't include us in it!"

"That's not fair Ashido," Sero frowned. "If you're going to replace the script, at least have all of us in it."

The three of them started arguing in hushed tones, unbeknownst to their classmates getting ready for the next scene. Suddenly, as Ashido yanked her script back, Mineta stumbled and hit the director's chair knocking the original script down, flipping open to the last page as Kantoku seemed to look at it often. Sero went to pick it up but froze when he read the words before him. His eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" asked Ashido.

Before Sero could explain, Kantoku showed up in front of them. It was difficult to discern what emotion his usually expressive face was supposed to be conveying. It looked completely blank. Ashido hid her version of the script behind her back while Sero fell onto his butt and tried to back away.

"You saw," said Kantoku in a completely neutral tone.

Sero shook his head. "What? No, I—I didn't see anything."

His two classmates could tell that something was wrong. But before they could bring it up, they were abruptly grabbed from behind, hands over mouths, and yanked away. They watched the rest of class A get farther away before all three extras were plunged into darkness.

"Okay!" Kantoku called, getting everyone's attention. "To make sure we wrap things up in one day, we'll shoot two scenes at once!"

They certainly had the room for it. As a matter of fact, the entire floor was changed into a rocky quarry just for the final battle scene in which the villains and heroes team up to take on the evil entity. On one side, the villains will be coming to the realization that they don't have to listen to anyone. On the other, the heroes will be getting ready to enter the field, saying a heartfelt 'this isn't goodbye' with the princess.

Jirou, Kaminari, and Ojiro were asked to get the technical equipment ready for the final battle, given specific instructions for how everything should be. Iida and Aoyama went with them in case any help was needed. Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Midoriya were asked to go with Kantoku to discuss how he wanted the next scene while the villains were to head to the other side of the dome.

"What about us?" asked Uraraka.

"You and Asui Tsuyu-chan won't be needed until the wedding scene," was Kantoku's reply. "Why don't you help with catering for now?"

The first few days were tough for Uraraka. But after a while, she really fell in love with her role. Mostly because she was starting to think that the princess role had been absolutely made for Yaoyorozu who almost always finished her scenes in one take.

"Yes sir, Kantoku, sir!" Uraraka saluted before skipping off to the kitchen.

"Good luck everyone, ribbit," said Tsuyu.

Koda and Hagakure were talking to the horses, making sure they weren't going to be too nervous. But then Koda noticed something. Always being as quiet as he was, he never liked noise much. It shouldn't be strange that things were quiet since everyone split up but there were three loud voices missing from their group.

"Sensei," he called. "Where are Ashido-san, Sero-san, and Mineta-san?"

Aizawa frowned, looking for the ones in question but realizing they were nowhere to be found. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen them in a while."

"You have to be in the final scene," said All Might. "I'll go look for them."

Even though the former number one hero was on the case, Aizawa couldn't help feeling worried. Over the last few days, he kept thinking someone was watching them from afar. Present Mic and Midnight agreed that it was probably paranoia because it'd been a long while since they had a moment of peace that lasted longer than a week.

There was something suspicious going on. So while everyone was apart from each other, Aizawa decided to go to the viewing room up above. It overlooked the entire floor so he'd be able to catch anything he felt shouldn't be there. His character wasn't needed until the end anyway.

As Aizawa climbed up the stairs, the feeling of being watched seemed to intensify. Maybe it really was paranoia. It was a surprise in and of itself that class A hadn't caused any trouble on their own. Well, aside from the small disagreements the extras or Bakugou or Tokoyami had with the director. Even after two weeks of being told the same old thing, the panda didn't acknowledge the fact that Dark Shadow was not a Ventriloquism Quirk.

A Ventriloquism Quirk? Aizawa stopped.

"I've heard those words before all this," the teacher muttered to himself. "Last year…"

" _It's not a Ventriloquism Quirk, it's an Imagination Quirk!"_

Something heavy and dense grew in the pit of Aizawa's stomach as he remembered those words being spoken by a former student of his. Not that he was a student for long. On day one, he and all nineteen of his classmates were expelled from U.A. high school because Aizawa didn't see potential in any of them. Therefore, there was no point in teaching them.

"It couldn't be!" he exclaimed.

Aizawa broke into a sprint, skidding to a stop in front of the viewing room. He flung open the metal door, opening his eyes wide to erase the Quirk of anyone who might be inside. But a flash of blinding light broke through, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. In the next instant, he was blindfolded and his wrists bound, back thrown onto the wall.

"How nice of you to come see me," a voice said, "Aizawa-sensei."

"Eigaku…," Aizawa snarled.

The person who took the pro hero captive had red hair and eyes, a thin build, and a bloodthirsty smile. "You remembered my name!"

Aizawa tried to pinpoint his opponent's location from sound alone but it felt like the voice was coming at him from every direction. So the least he could do was get some information out of the boy. "What do you want with me? Or my class? Why did you involve them?"

"Because, this is the first and only year, isn't it?" Eigaku replied. "That no one was expelled from your class."

The boy sat down on a blue swivel chair, turning around to face the window overlooking the sets. All around the glass was numerous TV screens, each displaying a different scene before him from every possible angle. Even one showing one of his allies beating up All Might. Having lost his power made the former pro nothing more than a civilian. Another screen showed the three extras, tied up and hanging over a pool of boiling water. He was always one with a flair for the dramatic even if it was a cliché.

"I didn't expel any of them because I saw potential in each of them," said Aizawa.

Eigaku didn't turn away from the screens. "I think you were just playing favorites."

"You can't beat those kids," said Aizawa. "They'll figure out something's wrong."

"I agree, I can't beat them. But I'm not alone, sensei," Eigaku chuckled. "There were others in my class that felt the same way I did."

The P.A. system suddenly went off. Eigaku looked to the screen that had All Might and saw that while he was coughing up blood, he had made it into the control room, the one that changed the sets in the dome. The door was shaking on its hinges so it was clear that his assailant was on the other side. But it was going to be too late by the time he got in.

"Attention young boys and girls," said All Might.

Midoriya looked up. "All Might?"

"Evacuate the dome and get help from U.A. We are under attack by villains!"

Immediately, everyone in the studio started talking over one another. But before anyone could make a move, they heard what sounded to be a door being blown off its hinges. There was a scuffle, impacts like something being punched, and then a new voice going through the system.

"None of you will make it out of here alive," it said.

"Yaoyorozu-san, let's go check out the control room," said Todoroki. "Kantoku, you should get out of here as soon as you can."

Midoriya wanted to follow along since he was worried about All Might. But a hero had to prioritize the civilians first. "Kantoku, I'll escort you—!"

The bear moved lightning quick, faster than what his kind in nature could do. A paw closed itself over the green-haired boy's face, claws digging into his scalp, as he was smashed right into the ground, sending up a bunch of dirt and debris. The other two students reacted quickly, one of them firing off a stream of flames and the other creating throwing knives. But Kantoku dodged them both easily by back flipping through the air.

"Midoriya-kun, are you okay?" asked Yaoyorozu.

"He's faster than he looks," Todoroki muttered.

Kantoku no longer spoke and his entire body was limp, but still standing. It was like he had become a marionette controlled by an invisible puppeteer. Yet the way he moved seemed to match that of any other normal human being. It was just when he went still that that creepy comparison could be made.

"I don't think guy's Quirk is Panda," Midoriya coughed, wiping the blood from his lip.

"Does he have a hybrid Quirk then?" Todoroki wondered aloud.

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I don't think so. I think he may be the result of someone else's Quirk entirely."

"That is correct."

A new voice joined them with a heavy sigh. It was feminine and belonged to a girl that looked not more than a year older than them as she stepped out from behind a boulder. She sauntered up to them with her heels clicking with every step and her long, straight black hair following closely behind. She wore a black leather jumpsuit that hugged her body and she paused in front of the group, holding them in her piercing gaze.

"That panda is a manifestation of someone's Quirk," said the girl, glancing over at Yaoyorozu. "Similar to yours."

That meant someone on the enemy side had something like a Creation Quirk. But Yaoyorozu has no ability to create living things so just what exactly was that panda? Just what kind of ability did this mystery foe have?

Kantoku looked over at his comrade. "I'm going to go kill All Might." And then took off running at an unnaturally great speed.

It was clearly bait for Midoriya since Kantoku ran off in a direction that wasn't towards the upper levels. But the boy heard the words and all he could think about was the fact that he was the only person there fast enough to catch up. So before Todoroki and Yaoyorozu could tell him not to fall for it, he took off, Full Cowl.

"Not good," said Todoroki. "They've separated us."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "And they've done their research." Now that she thought about it, the princess dress she was in covered up almost all of her skin from the neck down. And when she tried to tear it, it wouldn't budge, obviously made from some seriously tough material. "They even rendered me unable to use my Quirk completely."

So Todoroki's best idea was to finish things off quickly. He slid his foot forward across the ground, making a bunch of ice like he had done to Sero at the sports festival. It encased their enemy, washing over her like an Arctic ocean filled with pointed glaciers. But they heard and saw the ice shattering as it hit her and before long, all of the ice broke into glittering shards and powder that fell around them.

"What happened?" Todoroki gasped.

The girl stepped out of blustering fog, unscathed and her entire body hardened and shining like a jewel. "I call myself Black Diamond."

"She has a hardening Quirk like Kirishima," Yaoyorozu realized.

"Correct," Diamond nodded. "As expected of two students that got into U.A. the same way I did. You're both clearly strong and quite intelligent." The words hung in the air like knives ready to be thrown and stabbed into their victims. "So what makes us so different? Why was I forced to leave and you two, to stay? I'll find this out for myself."

"She's a former U.A. student?" Yaoyorozu muttered.

"And she was expelled?" Todoroki added.

They both thought back to their very first class and the threat that Aizawa had made about the person with the lowest score on the Quirk apprehension test. At the end of the day, their homeroom teacher claimed that it had been a logical ruse to get them to bring out the fullest of their abilities. But was it possible that it hadn't been a bluff at all and he only retracted it at the end?

Everyone else in the enormous studio could see the ice from where they were, no matter how far. The ones playing the villains broke off into a run in that direction. Shouji used his Quirk to locate everyone else and took note of how fights were breaking out between each of them. Whoever was fighting the class was clearly trying their hardest to bring them down.

"Bakugou, Kirishima!" Tokoyami shouted.

The two in front skidded to a stop when a boy appeared in front of them dressed like the phantom from Phantom of the Opera. He grabbed the pair in front by the throats, said goodbye to the other two, and then vanished without a trace. Bakugou, swearing up a storm, and Kirishima going along with him.

"Wha—?" Shouji gasped. "What just happened?"

"That guy must have a Teleportation Quirk," Tokoyami muttered. "They're trying to split us up."

"You catch on quick." A girl in a black lolita dress and blonde hair curled into tight ringlets stepped out from behind a boulder. She delicately held a black parasol in her gloved fingers, covering the top of her face so that they couldn't see her eyes but the guys instinctively got into defensive poses.

"Who are you?" Shouji asked. "What do you want with us?"

Tokoyami summoned Dark Shadow from within him. "Are you part of the League of Villains?"

"The nasty League of Villains?" the girl giggled. "Now why would we be working with those fools?"

She raised her umbrella and Shouji instinctively fanned out one side of arms, covering Tokoyami. But when he made eye contact with the girl's icy blue gaze, everything went stiff. He couldn't move a muscle and when he tried to speak, they came out one forced syllable at a time.

"Shouji, what happened?" asked Tokoyami.

"Can't… move…"

The girl giggled again. "I'm called Medusa… Care to guess why?"

Somewhere far away, the phantom guy reappeared with the captive students about twenty meters up in the air. Letting go, Bakugou and Kirishima began falling, at the mercy of gravity. The former was able to slow his own descent by using his explosions but his red-haired classmate wasn't as lucky.

"The name's Mister E.," grinned their opponent as he disappeared once more. Bakugou watched as this guy popped into existence on the ground. Just before Kirishima made a crash landing, a foot connected with his side, propelling him off into a boulder. If it weren't for the fact that he hardened his entire body in the last second, he definitely would've gotten more than just a few scratches. "And I'll be entertaining you boys for today."

Kirishima climbed out of the rubble, rolling up a sleeve. "You'll pay for that!" In unison, both he and Bakugou shouted, "You bastard!"

Uraraka and Tsuyu started sprinting towards the falling ice as well, knowing that the enemy in that area must be especially strong to be able to counter Todoroki like that. But as they were running, they felt their bodies getting heavier with each step. Suddenly, they both collapsed, hitting the ground hard as the pressure around them increased by a hundred-fold.

Tsuyu was even having trouble keeping her eyes open. "Someone must… have the opposite of your… Quirk, Ochaco-chan, ribbit…"

"Gravity instead of anti-gravity?" Uraraka grunted.

The user appeared in front of them though neither girl could really look up and see. He looked exactly like how an escaped convict from the movies would look, a scar around his eye, tattoos on his muscular arms, bushy brows, and a bald head. The way he glared was especially intimidating, once again, not like the girls could see any of that. But if they did, it would be hard to call this guy a high schooler let alone one year older than them.

"Hmph, I don't like having to fight little girls," the guy said. "But I do want to be the one to personally take care of that anti-gravity chick."

"M—Me?" Uraraka said through grit teeth.

"The name's Bow Down, as in all shall bow down to me!"

Satou had watched the girls race off. While he was in the kitchen, he noticed that everything sweet seemed to have been removed from the shelves, the pantry, fridge, and cabinets. The announcement from All Might went off before he could ask why. Now he was realizing that the lack of sweets was completely intentional in order to make it difficult for Satou to use his Quirk. Without sugar, he couldn't activate his super strength.

"Satou!" Hagakure called at the door. "What's going on?"

Koda, who was beside her, was trying his hardest to calm down the animals. "Don't be frightened, little ones! Everything's okay!"

"We're being attacked although that's not unusual," said Satou. This line-up was rather worrying. None of them had long-range attacks. Koda couldn't make use of the animals since they were clearly easily spooked and Hagakure was better suited for rescue and stealth. It'd be pretty bad if an enemy were to engage with them. "We should try to meet up with Uraraka and Asui, they went off that way."

Just before they turned to go, a beast dropped down in front of them. To their shock, it was an extremely buff gorilla that stood perfectly straight.

"A Gorilla Quirk?" Hagakure gasped.

Koda began gesturing wildly when he noticed the girl looking at him. "I can only control feral animals, not those with animal-related Quirks!"

"Crap," Satou muttered. He pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket. "You guys leave this to me."

"Think you can beat me, little man?" the gorilla smirked.

Immediately, the muscles in Satou's body became invigorated as he seemed to grow in size. "I'm not as little as you think, monkey butt."

"I'm Go-Go-Rilla!" the beast roared. "Get it right!"

The group that was meant to set the last scene made it to the lights and audio panel just mere seconds before the fighting broke out. Jirou plugged herself into the ground, pinpointing exactly where everyone was. Including three particular classmates screaming for help underground in the basement. But just as everyone turned around to head back, a giant stalagmite broke out from the ground, destroying the set and blowing the five students to the ground.

"Does someone have a geomancy Quirk?" Iida coughed.

Rows of stalagmites, smaller this time, began popping up from the ground. It split them up so that it was Iida and Aoyama on one side and Kaminari, Jirou, and Ojiro on the other. They quickly recovered from the surprise assault as they looked around for their enemies. Jirou could hear them coming from behind but just couldn't react fast enough as someone tore a strand of hair from her head.

"Ow!" Jirou blinked the stinging pain away but then noticed she couldn't see. "What the—?"

The same thing happened to Kaminari but Ojiro avoided it thanks to his instincts and reflexes. The tailed hero looked over at the pair with him show seemed completely lost. Kaminari kept rubbing at his eyes violently while Jirou was smacking her ears.

"What's wrong?" asked Ojiro. Neither replied, just murmured to themselves. So then he sent a glare at their enemy. "What did you do?"

Their foe was dressed in a skintight spacesuit with a visor over his head. "The name is E-Vac, I suck away senses, making people unable to hear, taste, or see."

"So they can't hear me," Ojiro muttered. That's not good. Communication is key in fights with allies. But it was at least clear how to reverse the effects of this guy's Quirk. There was a yellow hair tied around E-Vac's middle finger and a purple one around the ring finger. If Ojiro could retrieve them, then Kaminari and Jirou should be back to normal. "I'll take you on my own for now."

"You're a martial artist, right?" E-Vac remarked before getting into a horse stance. "Let's see which of us is better."

Ojiro got into a standard, on-guard stance, with his shoulder facing the foe and his fists raised and tucked close to his body. "I won't lose."

On the other side of the spiky wall Iida was, trying to shake an unconscious Aoyama awake. The surprise of the assault left the twinkling blond in a rather compromising state. It was made worse when their opponent appeared, dressed in a medieval suit of armor similar to Iida's film costume but with no helmet to cover his extremely spiky silver mohawk.

"I'll eliminate the two of you for jacking my style!" the guy shouted.

Iida adjusted his glasses. "Pardon?"

"Monsieur Iida," Aoyama muttered, pulling himself up. "Our hero costumes are metal armor like his."

"That's why he's targeting us?!" the taller boy blanched. "Such a lame reason!"

The guy swung out his arm dramatically. "Silence! I will have you two impaled or my name isn't Cavalier!"

Iida stood up. "I understand that the word Cavalier was adopted by the very people it was used to ridicule but you do realize that that word is an adjective to describe someone unconcerned or indifferent which is the opposite of the impression you give us."

"Quiet!" Cavalier shouted. He pulled an actual sword from his waist and leapt down. "I'll kill all of you!"

Iida tried to make a break for it but then he realized that the engines in his calves were covered by the armor. It would also take much too long to detach them from his legs. So he grabbed Aoyama and ran like a normal person which wasn't very fast but they were able to avoid the first slash at least.

"Aoyama," said Iida. "You'll have to distract him while I remove my costume."

"D'accord, Iida," the other boy nodded.

All Might was dropped off into the viewing room, covered in what appeared to be glue. The former hero was plopped down on the other side of the room from Aizawa just in case they got any funny ideas. The person who had beaten All Might then left the room, returning to the basement to finish off the three extras.

"Aizawa?" All Might gasped. "You got captured too?"

"What's done is done," Aizawa muttered. "Tell me, what's going on?"

All Might looked around the room, eyes passing over the villain in front of the screens. "The children are fighting right now… They've been separated and while I can't be sure, I think they've been matched up with those that have an advantage over them."

Eigaku burst into laughter, the same way Kantoku did. "That's correct! Soon all the brats of your precious little class A will die and I'll play it back for you a hundred times, Aizawa-sensei, until you're begging for me to end your life!"

Aizawa was perfectly calm. "That's where you're wrong, Eigaku. I have complete confidence in those kids."

"Stubbornly hanging on to hope, are you?"

"No. I expelled you for a reason and _didn't_ expel those kids for another." Aizawa had no idea where his ex-student was with the blindfold but it didn't matter. "It's because each and every one of those kids have far more potential to become great heroes than your class ever did."


	4. Parent's Burden

"None of you have the potential to become great heroes. I see no point in teaching any of you."

Those words shook each and every member of class A to the core as they were told to leave the premises by their own homeroom teacher. Some immediately called home, tears rolling down their cheeks, bawling to their parents to talk to the principal about the situation. Others started arguing with Aizawa, claiming that it was not his decision to make. Then there were those pleading for a second chance, on their knees.

Houseki Kirara didn't know what to think or do. She just stood there on the grounds, looking at the leaderboard showing how they all did for the Quirk apprehension test. While she got in through recommendations, she was ranked number tenth. Father would be so disappointed in her for not even coming close to the top three at least but it couldn't be helped given the nature of her Quirk.

The next thing she did was look up the train schedule. Which would be the next one to the Chiba prefecture?

Houseki had considered just not going home at all. Perhaps she could've stayed in Shizuoka. Gone to a public school and pretended that she was still attending U.A. Once schools found out that her father was pro hero, Brass Knuckle, they would surely take her. But she was never one to lie to her parents.

"Expelled?!"

"Honey, no!" her mother cried out. "This has to be tough on Kirara too!"

Brass Knuckle didn't listen as he grabbed his wife by the wrist, throwing her aside. "Harden yourself, Kirara, this is your punishment."

Houseki lost count of the number of hits that impacted her body. Until her time limit ran out, she wouldn't be able to feel a punch but it stung worse than the physical impact. When she returned to normal, her father always made sure to get one more punch in, sending his own daughter flying across their courtyard.

"Kirara!" her mother would sob from the sidelines.

"Next time," Brass Knuckle would always say, "be sure to block that last one too."

That's how it always went. When something angered Knuckle, his own daughter became his punching bag. Always an extra punch when she couldn't resist any longer and always those last words at the end. The desperation to protect herself did allow Houseki to increase her time limit far, far beyond other kids in her peer group with similar Quirks but her mother always told her that it was too cruel a method to get her to become strong.

Houseki silently agreed.

"It wasn't my fault," Houseki whimpered.

"She can go to U.A. next year!" her mother wailed.

Brass Knuckle stomped on the ground, shaking the earth. "Don't you dare talk back to me! Either of you!"

Sometime in the middle of the night, the police arrived. Houseki stepped out in her nightgown to find Brass Knuckle being arrested.

The teenager ran up to one of the officers. "What's going on?" The stench of iron was strong and it was coming from the kitchen. Before the cop could answer, she ran to the next room over and saw her mother, back against the cabinets, head hanging forward, and a knife sticking out of her chest. Houseki let out a scream.

"I didn't do it!" was all Brass Knuckle was saying as he was led out. "I swear I didn't!" The sirens drowned him out.

During the trial, a recorded phone call was played to the court. It was undeniably the number to the Houseki residence and it played the voice of the mother whispering for help. That her husband was trying to kill her. Then an abrupt click as she hung up.

The police responded, found the murder weapon and the damning evidence of the hero's fingerprints on the handle. The prosecutor claimed that Brass Knuckle always had a violent streak to him, citing several accounts of excessive force being used on villains and other such criminals that were caught by Knuckle.

To drive the point home, Houseki was asked to join the female members of the court in a private room. She was asked to strip down to her underwear.

The women gasped. Horrified as the fifteen year old girl displayed the black and blue marks on her stomach.

Houseki was even asked to testify. "I don't know if he did it… But I can't say for sure that he didn't."

"You bitch!" were Brass Knuckle's last words to his daughter.

In the end, Knuckle was sentenced to forty years in prison for the murder of his wife and child abuse. He still claimed that it wasn't him that committed the murder. Houseki actually believed him. It's true, he was violent, but he was still a hero and would never kill anyone.

The real story was most like that her mother committed suicide and then framed Knuckle for it. It was most likely to protect Houseki.

Houseki moved in with her uncle. For every day since that moment she stood in the courtroom almost completely exposed, she wondered who to blame for this whole situation. At first, she thought of herself. But when she watched the following year's U.A. sports festival and listened to the way Aizawa defended Bakugou Katsuki, the boy who had to be muzzled during the award ceremony, she found herself shifting.

Had he not expelled her, her mother would still be alive. Her father wouldn't be cursing their names from a prison cell. Things wouldn't be like this.

-X-

"Why was I forced to leave and you two, to stay?" Black Diamond asked as if the pair in front of her could answer. "I intend to find out."

Todoroki's left side burst into flames. He knew never to underestimate an opponent, especially not one who was supposedly good enough to get into U.A. with recommendations. That would rank her skill level around his own. Possibly more due to the difference in their experience. But then again, Todoroki has been training a lot since he entered high school.

"If it's just a hardening Quirk then she has a time limit," said Yaoyorozu.

Todoroki nodded, understanding immediately. "So just keep her occupied until then."

"Let's see if you can," Black Diamond scoffed.

Their enemy rushed forward, running at them at top speed, each step breaking off bits of the set underfoot. In order to counter, Todoroki produced volleys of flames, shooting them towards Diamond who unflinchingly rushed through the intense heat. Yaoyorozu got out of the way so that her comrade wouldn't have to worry about her but she watched as Todoroki and Diamond were face to face with one another.

"She's fast," Todoroki remarked as he tried to throw a flame-enveloped punch.

It was slower than Brass Knuckle's so Diamond ducked underneath it easily. She then made a solid left hook, impacting Todoroki's stomach. Considering the fact that her limb was also enhanced in strength with her Quirk, it was bound to do some serious damage as the boy was sent flying.

"Todoroki-kun!" Yaoyorozu cried out.

Diamond let out a sigh as she relaxed, returning to her original state. "Now I'm really confused. Why was I expelled?"

As Todoroki got up, he wiped the blood he coughed up from his chin, then slid his right foot forward again. "Giant Ice Wall!"

"Getting desperate are we?" Diamond muttered. She rushed forward, letting the ice shatter the moment it made contact with her body. "It didn't work the first time, why would it work now?" She didn't stop until she got in as close as possible where Todoroki produced another handful of flames. But his hand was knocked away and his chin was impacted by an uppercut, sending him skywards.

"She moves like a professional boxer," said Yaoyorozu.

Todoroki hit the ground hard. But he was resilient, standing up once more. "Not yet."

He alternated between ice and fire, knowing now that trying to fight at close quarters would be the end for him. Instantly, he cooled and heated up the air. Diamond raced through it without issue but Todoroki kept his distance. Ice for mobility and fire as the force that pushed him across. He was playing keepaway in the same way Team Midoriya did to him in the sports festival.

"Stop running away, you coward!" Diamond snapped.

She was starting to get frustrated.

Todoroki decided to take this chance to move onto the offensive. Circling around his opponent on a frozen slide, he moved counterclockwise so that his left side would always be facing Diamond. Then he produced as much fire as possible, creating a blazing twister that engulfed everything inside the circle he made.

The sweltering heat was suffocating. Diamond found it hard to breathe. But her irises darted around, keeping watch of her foe through the flickering orange.

"Enough!" she shouted.

Diamond leapt out from the eye of the flaming tornado, figuring out Todoroki's position since he stayed in one perpetual motion. The boy raised his arms, crossing them to block the oncoming punch, but he was still blasted straight into the ground. The back of the hero costume became caked in dirt and there was a large tear in it, falling open and exposing parts of his back. But again, he stayed on his feet.

"I won't lose," Todoroki huffed.

"What can you do in your state?" Diamond scoffed. It was agitating to think that she was expelled yet he wasn't. "I'll crush you to bits!"

There was a little smile playing on Todoroki's lips as he looked up. "It's not me you should be worried about."

Diamond didn't forget about her other opponent, of course, but she was having a hard time believing that Yaoyorozu could put up a better fight in her state. It was probably some sort of trick to get her distracted. But then again, it wasn't like Todoroki could do much more and when she turned to look at Yaoyorozu, she saw that the class A student had nearly gotten the dress off.

It would be a pain since Yaoyorozu could create anything. It was possible that a trap could be laid out for Diamond to restrict her movement. So maybe it would be a good idea to immobilize Yaoyorozu first. Besides, in her mind, Todoroki was clearly outmatched so there was nothing else to worry about when it came to him.

"Then I'll kill her first," said Diamond.

"You may outmatch me," Todoroki huffed. "But you can't outsmart her."

Diamond pivoted around, running across the field. She jumped high into the air and made eye contact with Yaoyorozu, preparing one of her killer punches.

Yaoyorozu jumped backwards and threw the dress which had been cut to shreds. The fabric flew into Diamond's face, blinding her momentarily. But as she landed on her feet and threw the cloth off, she saw that Yaoyorozu was dressed in her hero costume and had a sword held in her hands, low in front of her. The blade was most likely the weapon that cut the dress and the fact that she had the time to make and put on her current outfit meant that Yaoyorozu had been out of the costume for a while.

"Why didn't you help your comrade?" Diamond inquired, suspicions raised, "What are you plotting?"

Yaoyorozu tightened her grip on the weapon. "I figured that since you knew our Quirks, you'd be someone resistant to Todoroki-kun."

"And? You think I can't beat _you_?" Diamond raised her arm as if to show off the shine of it. "Nothing can cut me."

Diamond thought back to the sports festival. Yaoyorozu was taken out in the first round of the final event because she was overwhelmed by the constant attacks by the kid with a sentient shadow-beast Quirk. So victory should come easy if she just attacked and didn't let up.

Without any hesitation, Diamond ran forward. Yaoyorozu waited patiently, keeping a firm grasp on her weapon. Then, when the girl came close, Yaoyorozu ducked low, slashing at the enemy's leg. The blade didn't break, and sliced clean through Diamond's limb, breaking off some of the gemstone. The older girl tumbled forward, clutching at her wound.

"But how?!" Diamond grunted.

"Diamond isn't the hardest substance in the world," Yaoyorozu explained. "This sword is made of graphene, even harder than diamond."

Not only that but it was well known that a boxer's weakness was almost always the leg. Do enough damage to them and victory was practically guaranteed.

Yaoyorozu continued running until she was standing beside a rope that went up. Diamond didn't see it before because her face had been covered by the dress, obstructing her view. Another part of the trap that had been laid out for her. Todoroki was also there and both students pulled on the rope which was attached to a pulley system, Diamond felt something constrict around the leg that hadn't been cut as she was pulled into the air.

Every little thing, was orchestrated by the pair since the beginning. From the moment Todoroki said he would occupy Diamond until her time limit.

Todoroki wiped at the blood on his lip. "It's fake, a prop from the set."

Truth be told, Midoriya at a hundred percent delivered stronger blows than Diamond did. It still hurt, but Todoroki's enhanced durability allowed him to take several blows without losing excessive amounts of blood or consciousness. Even being the decoy, taking the hits head on until it looked like he couldn't stand, was part of their plan to get Diamond's guard down.

Diamond couldn't believe she was fooled this much. "I can… still break free."

"Go ahead," said Yaoyorozu. Caltrops dropped from her forearm and littered the ground directly below their captive. "Graphene, it'll hurt when you land."

"What are you, a ninja?"

"It's just something I picked up from my teacher."

Diamond didn't see the point in struggling anymore. "I surrender. I've lost... "

"Yaoyorozu-san, what should…" Todoroki trailed off when he saw that his classmate had her back turned to him and was producing graphene chains from the center of her chest like she had with Aizawa's capture weapon during their final exams. Slowly, he turned away.

Once she was done, they safely lowered Diamond to the ground. Yaoyorozu fastened the chains around the older girl but as soon as she put a lock on it, she collapsed. The shock barely registered as Todoroki ran forward, holding his classmate up. Her breathing was ragged and uneven and her skin was hot to touch so Todoroki placed his right hand on her forehead, trying to cool her down.

Yaoyorozu looked up at him. "Sorry. I think I overdid it with my Quirk."

The knives, sword, clothes, rope, pulley system, grappling hook to get the rope there, and the caltrops were all made from her. It was no wonder she was so exhausted.

"You need to get some food in you," said Todoroki. "I'll carry you to Satou."

The black-haired girl stopped him. "No. I need to watch over Diamond and Midoriya-kun could be in trouble."

"Are you sure?" asked Todoroki. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine. I promise."

As long as the graphene sword was still available for use, Yaoyorozu could fight back if it came to that. So Todoroki propped her up against a rock, making some ice and using the torn-up dress as a makeshift bag. He pressed it in her hand, told her to keep it to her head if she felt too feverish, before taking off.

Diamond waited until Todoroki was out of earshot. "Must be nice… having someone to support you like that."

Yaoyorozu remembered a news story from a year ago. About a girl who had to testify against a pro hero, her own father. Even if they refused to release her name, people would post about her on superhero forums online. Since they all knew the culprit was Brass Knuckle, then the teenager in question had to be his one and only daughter.

"Do you… not have anyone like that?" asked Yaoyorozu.

Diamond thought about her mother. "I used to."

What was it about coming from a famous hero's family that made it so hard to live freely? Yaoyorozu couldn't do anything without her mother's express permission. She wasn't allowed to enjoy festivals, go out with friends for no reason, or enjoy non-academic extracurricular activities. It was always practicing weapon handling, study up on these materials, and memorize this encyclopedia.

Todoroki was the same or at least similar. It was unclear to Yaoyorozu what he was going through at home. But his mother was in the hospital and his father, Endeavor, was always a sore subject to bring up. There was bad blood between the blood-related duo, that much was certain.

"You only entered U.A. because of your father's expectations," said Yaoyorozu. "I think Aizawa-sensei could tell that."

Diamond didn't know what to say so she just sat back. "Regardless, I can see why he didn't expel either of you."

"Your friend probably shouldn't have taught us how to act," Yaoyorozu smiled a little. "You might've been able see through Todoroki then."

"We wanted to tire you guys out… I guess it all backfired."

The girls gave each other a small smile. It was weird, even though one was just trying to kill the other. Maybe it was because of how Yaoyorozu handled the situation. Had she been the way she was during the sports festival, lacking in the self-confidence she had now, things might not have turned out the way they did.

"Sensei," said Yaoyorozu, thinking about how Aizawa concerned himself over her self-esteem. The way he prostrated himself in front of the media that he so despised to protect his students. The way he was lenient towards them breaking the rules when they tried to save Bakugou. "Sensei isn't one to do things out of malice or without reason. That much I know."

 **Name** : Houseki Kirara

 **Alter-Ego** : Black Diamond

 **Quirk** : Diamond, allows her to harden her entire body into the gemstone of the same name. However, she is capable of lasting for almost twice as long in her hardened state than either Kirishima Eijirou or Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu can.

 **Reason for Revenge** : As the daughter of pro hero, Brass Knuckle, she was expected to become a hero as well so she was thrust into U.A. high school. After getting expelled despite getting through with recommendations, she was beaten far more severely than ever before in the past. Her mother, unable to take it anymore, framed her husband for murder, leading Houseki to believe none of this would've happened had she not been expelled.

-X-

"Help! Someone help us! Save us!"

If Sero could, he would smack Mineta upside the head. "Will you shut up!"

The trio was bound back to back, arms locked to their sides, a rope looped tightly around their waists. They hung above a massive vat of boiling water that bubbled fiercely, each one popping like a crocodile trying to snap at them with their giant jaws. There was maybe ten meters between their feet and the water. And about thirty meters between their heads and the ceiling. Even if they did break out of their bindings, they would descend too quickly for them save themselves before getting cooked.

Looking up, there were no possible footholds. No banisters, ledges, or hanging equipment low enough for Sero to tape onto quickly to save them. This was all based on Mineta's judgment as the surprisingly smartest of the three. The other pair thought their plan of burning off the rope with acid and then taping the ceiling to fly away would be effective.

"Mineta, I don't like admitting this," said Ashido, "but you're the only one who can think of a good plan."

Sero nodded. "We can't depend on someone saving us. You have to figure something out!"

The smallest sniffed loudly, making a wet and snotty sound. But he started looking around the room for anything that could help them. But all he could see was the bare far wall. Their enemies clearly knew the limits of their Quirks well to make it so that the acceleration of gravity dropping them into the vat would be faster than the rate of which Sero could dispense tape.

"There must be something to latch onto," Mineta muttered before realizing. "You guys, listen closely!"

There was only one place that they could grab onto in order to prevent from falling to their doom, and that was the rope. Whether or not it would hold didn't matter. They just needed a temporary way to prevent their descent for just a few seconds.

"Okay, this is going to burn a bit," Ashido warned.

Mineta's breathing got heavy. "Will it burn your clothes?"

"I can always increase the corrosiveness and burn you right now," Ashido added, shutting him up.

"Okay," said Sero. "We're ready whenever you are."

There was the sound of sizzling as Ashido began whittling away at the thick rope. She focused on trying to limit it only coming from her front so as not to hurt her classmates though it still stung them. As soon as it snapped, everyone started falling. Sero immediately shot a strip of tape upwards, looping it around the rope and then from his other elbow, grabbed onto his comrades.

"Quick! Swing us to the wall!" Mineta shouted. "My head first!"

Sero did as he was told, throwing them forward. He let go of the rope just as it broke. They flew right for the wall, sticking to it thanks to the spheres on Mineta's head. Ashido and Sero smacked into the metal surface as well. It hurt, but it was a relief to be away from definitive death.

"That hurt more than I expected," Ashido groaned.

"At least we're alive," Sero chuckled humorlessly.

They got themselves back onto the ground, trying to shake off the disorientation. They knew they had to help the others who were surely in trouble.

"Where are we anyway?" Ashido wondered aloud.

They were too busy panicking to really think about it. When they were blinded and dragged away, it didn't feel like they were taken very far. So the assumption was that they were still in the studio, most likely underground in the basement. So they stayed against the wall, looking for an exit. They all tensed up when they heard a metal door creaking open.

"So you escaped," a dull voice rebounded off the walls, reaching their ears. "What a drag… Now I have to fight you brats."

Standing at the door was a completely bald man wearing a wetsuit of all things. There was nothing the students could say when they saw the other kid before them. It was hard to believe that he was an enemy and not a stranger that one would meet on a New York subway. Not that any of them would know but they've heard rumors.

"Don't tell me this is the guy that abducted us," Ashido muttered.

"It would be really lame to think we lost to this guy," Sero agreed.

"Why are you even doing this to us?" asked Mineta.

Now that the other two thought about it, this guy didn't seem very motivated to do much of anything. They were certain he was the type who shaved his head because he didn't want to style it in the morning. The wetsuit was most likely a spandex outfit because he couldn't think of what his combat suit should be. So why was he even fighting them?

"I'm being paid," was the answer.

"Now I really don't like him!" they snapped.

Ashido quickly ran forward, sliding on non-corrosive acid to speed herself up. She produced a blob of it in her hand and threw it forward with a spin. Their opponent produced a white substance in his hands, he used it to counter the poisonous substance and the splashback was intense so they both jumped backwards in order to evade getting hit.

Sero shot tape upwards, letting it stick itself directly over the enemy's head. He lifted off the ground and swung himself forward, straightening out his leg to get a good kick in. But then their foe grabbed the door, slamming it closed and leaving a thick layer of the substance on it to which Sero got stuck onto.

"It's glue?!" Sero gasped.

"I'm called Noriko," said the other teenager.

"Isn't that just a name?!"

Noriko tried to move forward but found that he was stuck himself. Looking down, he saw one of Mineta's orbs underfoot, sticking him to the floor.

"Ah… crap," said Noriko.

"You've fallen for our trap!" Mineta smirked as he tried and failed to get Sero free, getting stuck himself.

Sero let out a sigh. "I can't tell if you're useful or useless."

Ashido sprinted forward once more. Now there was no way for their opponent to dodge as she landed the most perfectly executed uppercut since the one she delivered on Aoyama at the sports festival. It was strong enough to actually send Noriko up into the air for a good ten seconds, his right shoe being the only thing left on the floor, before landing back on his head, knocked out cold.

"That's what you get," said Ashido, blowing a raspberry.

She quickly freed the guys by melting the glue. Then then tied up Noriko in tape before moving on, going up the stairs two at a time.

 **Name** : Sachuu Noriko

 **Alter-Ego** : Noriko

 **Quirk** : Glue, similar to Ashido in that he can produce it from any part of his body. He can also manage how quickly it dries and hardens.

 **Reason for Revenge** : None, he was actually getting paid to do this. His history is actually irrelevant because on the day of the Quirk apprehension test, he automatically gave up, thinking that he would be on the bottom of the class. He actually transferred to the general department in U.A. since he quote, "worked hard to pass the entrance exam, might as well stay."


	5. E is for End(o)

Endo Souichi was born just five minutes before his twin brother, Endo Souji. The parents were so thrilled to hold their sons for the first time as they slowly quieted down their wailing. Their only concern was whether or not they would be able to raise the boys to be kind and strong and if possible, to be great heroes.

At age four, Souichi's Quirk manifested. He tripped and almost crashed into the brick entrance of the kindergarten. In the blink of an eye, he popped out of existence and then appeared on the other side of the gate. Everyone in class was amazed by such a convenient Quirk. Though as it would turn out, he needed to know where it was he was teleporting too. And as a kid, he couldn't remember places well.

Souji expected a similar one to manifest in him. But it didn't happen.

Their parents didn't want one to feel inferior or better than the other. So in order to even the playing field a little, they enrolled their children into the best martial arts program in the Miyazaki prefecture. They wanted the best for their kids. Schools, toys, culture, and experiences in general. Money was no object for them even if everything was as expensive as it was.

But it was during judo training that Souji discovered his Quirk.

"I can't see!" Souichi yelped.

Souji let go of his brother, his hands being in the other boy's hair for that moment. "What? What did I do?"

After blinking a few times, the older twin rolled back onto his feet, saying he was fine. So the parents brought Souji to the doctor where they learned about his Quirk. By touching someone's hair, he could remove their senses. Of course, from that point on, Souji had to wear gloves during all of his matches.

"Still that's an amazing Quirk!" Souichi praised at dinner that night, mouth full of rice.

"Not as good as yours," Souji replied, a small smile on his face. "Mine is so specific, it'll be hard to use in fights."

"I have no doubt you'll get stronger than me with it!"

"No way! You're just saying that to be nice."

The twins were raised to always have each other's backs. So that's what they did. They were inseparable.

As they got older, they came to realize that life wasn't free. The operas they got to see, the tickets they got to the Kyushu philharmonic, their top-notch education, and everything they had ever asked for. At age eleven, they overheard their parents arguing over money. But they came to the conclusion that if it was for their boys, they would pay every cent for them.

After that, the boys stopped asking for things. They also would've gotten part-time jobs to help but their private academy didn't allow students to have jobs as it might interfere with their academics. So instead, they strived to be the best of the best. Top of their class in grades, alternating every year, winners of every martial arts competition, alternating first and second place, and voted most likely to make it into U.A.

Which they did.

"We need to get you boys an apartment there," said their father.

"Oh, I'm so proud but I'm going to miss you two so much," their mother sobbed.

Souichi and Souji swore not to disappoint them. But then on the first day, they were expelled. They tried arguing with Aizawa but to no avail.

"There is one spot in general and support courses left," Aizawa had remarked. "You can always enroll in them and try to get yourselves transferred."

The twins couldn't imagine being apart so they hesitated. Those spots were quickly filled up by two other students, Sachuu Noriko and Kijinuu Minari. The rest were told to go home and either try again next year or look for other schools to take them.

Souichi paced back and forth in their shared room, wringing his arms, while his younger brother quietly cried in the corner of the room. They were supposed to be living the good life, aiming to become top heroes so that they could repay their parents for everything. What could've gone wrong?

"What are we going to tell them?" Souichi asked, remembering that they promised to call home.

"I don't know," said Souji, his voice cracking. "We signed a strict one year lease at this apartment and now we can't even go to school."

Neither wanted to ride in a train for over five hours all the way to Kyushu just to disappoint their family. If they told their parents, then they would inevitably be enrolled into another private institution that would cost another fortune. But they couldn't just keep it a secret either. So they decided to make their own plea.

"We'll work for a year," Souichi said, over his mother's hysteria.

"We'll make money," Souji nodded. "And enroll in a public school."

"We promise we won't let you down this time!"

Neither of them liked Aizawa for forcing them into this situation. The sound of their mother crying and their father's agitation was enough to get the twins to start wailing as well, like the day they were born. But instead, they just sat on the wooden floor, listening to their parents through the phone as they wondered about what to do next.

-X-

Bakugou knew instantly that Mister E. was a counter for Kirishima specifically. Since hardening Quirks had time limits and the users are often close-range fighters, someone would just have to wait it out while not getting hit. Someone with a teleportation ability would fit the bill perfectly.

"Shitty hair," said Bakugou. "Stay behind me and cover my blind spots!"

Kirishima knew that between them, Bakugou was the far superior fighter. So he quickly did as he was told as his classmate pointed a splayed out palm at their enemy. In an instant, a massive explosion rang through the field, covering a wide area. The redhead focused on looking around to see where Mister E. would appear next since it was never a good idea to believe that an enemy could be felled in one shot.

In front? Above? The sides? He was nowhere to be found.

Bakugou let out a shout and Kirishima spun around. Their enemy had transported off somewhere and then returned into the smoke of the after blast. Then he jabbed a powerful right hook into Bakugou's stomach before he could realize that Mister E. was there.

"Bakugou!" Kirishima called out.

Hardening his arm, Kirishima swung outward, striking at thin air. Then Mister E reappeared at his right side, performing a roundhouse. Kirishima instantly hardened his whole body, hoping to reduce any damage done to him and hurt the attacker instead. But the idea backfired as it was Bakugou who got hit once more, sending him colliding into Kirishima, doing extra damage to the blond instead.

"That damn teleporting bastard," Bakugou growled. His back was bleeding from hitting Kirishima. "I'll get you for this."

Kirishima was freaking out about accidentally hurting his own comrade. "Bakugou, man, are you alright? I didn't…"

"Shut up and focus!"

Mister E. put some distance between himself and them, tipping his head towards them with a wide smile. It was clear that he was treating this like some sort of game. The fact was, he was able to gauge their personalities and abilities from the sports festival alone. So he knew that Bakugou was quite possibly the biggest threat in class A. Of course he would try to finish him off first and not Kirishima.

"I'm not done playing," Mister E. chuckled.

"Shitty hair, stay behind me," Bakugou repeated sternly before stretching out both arms. "AP Shot: Auto-Cannon!"

Rapid-fire explosions occurred one after the other. Bakugou began turning in a circle, covering not just a wide range but every single area around them. Kirishima understood why the order had to be repeated now as he stuck close to the other boy's back and paid attention to any sudden sounds or movements.

"Those wild shots won't do anything!"

Kirishima darted to the right, hardening his entire body when he saw a punch being thrown. But it stopped short of the boy's face before disappearing once more. Mister E. then reappeared directly in between the class A students, performing and perfectly executed sky high split kick. It knocked into both of their heads, causing them to stumble forward.

Bakugou swore. It was obviously bad for them to be separated.

Mister E. appeared near him, immediately giving him a kick to the side. Kirishima tried to run to Bakugou's aid but then their foe appeared behind him. In the air, Mister E. pressed both soles of his feet into Kirishima's back and pushed outwards, like kicking off a springboard, knocking them into each other again. It was also a strong enough kick to send them straight into the ground.

"Damn it," Kirishima coughed. "Why can't this guy sit still and fight like a real man?!"

Bakugou wiped at his chin. When his fist went over his mouth, a smirk was there. "Shitty hair, harden your entire body and stay that way."

"What?" Kirishima blinked.

Bakugou stood up, the smile still on his face. "Just do it."

Mister E. thought it curious as he watched from afar. The pair was standing completely still, one of them was using his Quirk at full capacity while the other just had a smug grin on his face. What was going on exactly? Why would they drain his time limit that way?

"Should I wait it out?" Mister E wondered to himself.

The only issue with that plan was the fact that this was Bakugou Katsuki he was talking about. It had been clear from the sports festival that he was highly intelligent and powerful. Not only was he third place in the first event but it was obvious that he gave all the orders during the cavalry battle. Not to mention the fact that he was able to figure out Kirishima's and Tokoyami's weaknesses in such a short amount of time. If he was pausing then some sort of plot was brewing.

"Bakugou," said Kirishima, standing back to back to his classmate. "Can I just say… you're definitely a man through and through!"

Bakugou had his eyes closed but still took the compliment. "Heh, say that after we win."

There was a sound that could be heard whenever Mister E. would reappear, like a small pop. So the moment it happened, Bakugou didn't listen to where, he just grabbed Kirishima by the collar. Without no more of a warning than a shout to "DIE!" from Bakugou, the hardened teenager was swung around like a human melee weapon, legs smacking Mister E. right in the face.

"You're kidding me!" Mister E. and Kirishima both yelled.

Bakugou had to make sure that not a single second was wasted or else the chance would be lost. So right after completing the arc of the swing, he let go of Kirishima who flew off but would otherwise be fine thanks to his Quirk. Then he kicked off the ground with the aid of an explosion to meet Mister E. head on. Before their foe could teleport away, a hand closed around the older boy's face.

"Howitzer Impact!"

A massive explosion rang through the air. The last thing that poor Mister E. saw was a triumphant smile filled with bloodlust.

When Kirishima recovered from the fall he took, he looked up to see Bakugou sitting on the back of an unconscious Mister E. "Jeez, you could've at least told me your plan."

"You might've argued with me if I did," said Bakugou.

They didn't have anything to bind Mister E. except for their costumes. So they tore off the sleeves and their opponent's cape, using the fabric to make sure Mister E. couldn't move his legs or arms. In order to make sure he wouldn't transport away, they made sure to always have some sort of physical contact with him at all times. Bakugou realized that anything the boy touched would go with him or else he would have the same issue as Togata Mirio when using his Quirk.

"Alright so talk," said Kirishima, hardening his arm. "What do you have against us?"

Mister E. looked really tired without his mask. "I… can't quite remember."

"Bullshit!" Bakugou snapped. "You better start talking or I'll—!"

"I don't know!" Mister E. snapped. He looked between Bakugou and Kirishima, looking like he might burst into tears at any second. "I don't know why I would try to kill you two. When I came to, all the murderous intent I had before was gone."

Kirishima looked over at Bakugou. "I think he's telling the truth."

"I do know that I came here to take revenge on Aizawa-sensei," said Mister E. "Because we had all been expelled by him. But why any of us would want to go so far as killing you all to achieve that… it makes no sense to me. I feel like I just woke up from a bad dream or something."

The other two couldn't help but think about Shinsou Hitoshi from the general course. Was it possible that there was someone who had a brainwashing Quirk? If that was the case, then it could be possible for the League of Villains to be involved in this incident as well. Although if the target of their revenge was EraserHead then perhaps it was a different entity.

"Was there anyone in your class that could control people?" asked Bakugou.

"Not that I know of," Mister E. replied. "Well… there was one kid that got in through recommendation but I don't know what his Quirk is."

The guys decided to take his word for it. Just in case, Kirishima was told to keep watch over Mister E. and take him back to the entrance, see if they could make it into an exit. In the meantime, Bakugou decided it would be best to go to the control room. He still partially blamed himself for All Might retiring so he was going to do everything he could to save the hero.

"That guy…," muttered Mister E. after Bakugou ran off. "Why didn't Aizawa expel him but did it to us?"

Kirishima was slowly dragging the older boy by the arms across the set. "Bakugou gives off this sinister impression at first. But I don't think there's anyone in our class more serious about becoming a hero than him. And that's really saying something because that's how we all are."

"All of you?"

"We don't show it," grinned Kirishima, "but we're just as aggressive as Bakugou when it comes to trying to be a pro hero."

Mister E. slowly looked back at the fading frame of the boy who was muzzled during the award ceremony. "...I see."

 **Name** : Endo Souichi

 **Alter-Ego** : Mister E.

 **Quirk** : Teleportation, he is capable of instantaneously vanishing and reappearing in another spot. However a requirement is for him to know the place well. For example, he can't just teleport to Europe just because he wants to. He has to really know the specific area that he's teleporting to. Furthermore, if he uses his Quirk too much in one day, he starts to get dizzy.

 **Reason for Revenge** : His parents were always sacrificing for their children. He ended up feeling guilty about causing them to suffer because there were some nights when they ate significantly less than the twins in order to save money. They even worked twice as hard in order to manage taking care of two kids at the same time. So he felt vengeful towards Aizawa for bringing more suffering to his parents. But it might be possible that someone else entirely manipulated Souichi into doing this.

-X-

Kaminari and Jirou were testing their voices so they were basically just screaming nonsense. But they were unable to hear any of it without their senses. They couldn't see anything either so they just stood, confused. Meanwhile, Ojiro and E-Vac were staring each other down, sizing each other up, and waiting for the other to make the first move.

Ojiro decided to get the jump on his opponent, literally. Using his extra appendage, he slammed his tail into the ground and somersaulted through the air. E-Vac tucked and rolled to the side, avoiding the oncoming tail smashing into the set, bringing up dust and debris.

"That is one powerful tail," E-Vac remarked.

Ojiro returned to his original stance. "But I'm guessing you're not intimidated."

"You got that right," said E-Vac, rushing forward.

The pair traded blows with one another. Expertly throwing out punches and kicks at one another that was absorbed into the other's palms or deflected with ease. They seemed to be evenly matched although Ojiro had one significant advantage. It was obvious from the beginning but even clearer after Ojiro did a roundhouse kick. E-Vac was able dodge the foot but the tail would just sweep his legs out from under him.

"Don't underestimate U.A.!" Ojiro called out as he made to karate chop E-Vac's side.

All of sudden, his vision went black. He wanted to continue his momentum but he couldn't be certain that he would hit his target.

E-Vac's hand had closed around the end of Ojiro's tail which was covered in hair. It seemed that it didn't matter where it came from so long as E-Vac had a grip on hair. Then, raising his legs up into the air, he pushed back against Ojiro's chest, sending the hero-in-training flying through the air as he got back up.

"How does it feel to go blind?" E-Vac chuckled, holding a few strands in his fist. "Although I guess you can't hear me either."

Ojiro landed on his back hard, gritting his teeth to endure the pain. He got back onto his feet but found that he was unable to see or hear anything.

"Damn it," he muttered. "This isn't good."

"What the hell is going on?!" Kaminari groaned.

Jirou had herself plugged into the ground. She could feel the vibrations coming through it but that was about it. "Someone's fighting… Ojiro?"

E-Vac wasn't too worried about someone being able to tell what was going on partially. Just being able to feel things wouldn't help if you couldn't communicate with your comrades. Kaminari also couldn't risk using his Quirk or else he might end up hurting his friends. Jirou didn't have her speakers so her range of offense with just her earphone jacks was extremely limited. Now Ojiro…

"A close quarters combatant," said E-Vac, slowly approaching the younger boy, "depends on his senses."

E-Vac stood at an arm's length away from Ojiro who was moving his head around like an oscillating electric fan. Then he reeled back and threw a punch. It hit Ojiro square in the face, drawing blood from the nose and lip but then Ojiro reached up and latched onto his opponent, taking E-Vac with him.

"I won't lose!" Ojiro grunted.

E-Vac tumbled to the ground, landing on top of Ojiro. "What the—!"

The U.A. student was trying to pin down E-Vac to the best of his ability without the ability to see. They grappled each other on the ground until Ojiro was able to figure out which one was the right arm, going for the hand. E-Vac struggled in the younger boy's grasp but he discovered that his legs were being pinned down by the tail.

"Got it!" Ojiro huffed, not completely sure if he retrieved the hairs but hoping that he did.

"Damn it!" E-Vac snapped.

But the relief on Ojiro was enough for the grip to be loosened. So E-Vac quickly threw all of his weight to one side, flinging the boy on top off.

"I can see again!" Kaminari gasped.

Jirou looked to the battlefield. "Ojiro!"

E-Vac was scrambling over the ground, looking to see if he could pick up any of the hairs he dropped but it wasn't exactly easy to find a single strand on the floor. Ojiro got back on his feet, relieved that he and his friends had their senses back as he darted across the set. He grabbed Jirou in his arms and leapt high into the air.

"Kaminari, let loose!" Ojiro ordered.

"You got it!" Kaminari grinned, electricity running over his body. "This is for what you did to me and my friends! Indiscriminate Discharge: 1,000,000 Volts!"

The field was alight with electricity. The pair that was airborne noticed that it wasn't as powerful as it usually was so it was clear that Kaminari was holding back just a little bit so he wouldn't become total dead weight. He also didn't want to accidentally strike the duo above. But to their own shock, they saw that E-Vac was completely unphased by the attack.

"We know your Quirks," E-Vac reminded them. "What do you think this suit is made of?"

"An insulator?" Jirou gasped.

Ojiro bit his lip. "Like rubber."

The distance between the two on the ground was closed in just a few quick steps. Kaminari was no martial artist but he could throw a punch. But it was easily avoided and the electricity user was hit right in the chest with an open palm strike, sending him flying across the field.

"Kaminari!" Ojiro called out as he landed. He dropped off Jirou and raced back into the fight. "Why you—!"

E-Vac dodged the tail slam once more, but then closed his arms around it. Using a judo toss, he flung Ojiro in the same direction as the fallen Kaminari. Not a second a later, he could hear the sound of whips whizzing through the air. So he stretched out his arm, catching Jirou's earphone jacks before they hit his face. Then he looped them around the length of his forearm and pulled, yanking the girl straight towards him where he proceeded to slam her into the ground with an axe kick.

As strong as she was. Jirou wasn't as durable as the guys. A rib felt cracked. Blood spilled from her mouth. And the world was spinning.

"Damn it...," she grunted.

The boys had gotten up in time to see her go down. "Jirou!"

Even though Ojiro had the quicker reflexes and more agile body, it was Kaminari who reacted first. The yellow-haired teenager sprinted right for E-Vac, covering his arm in strings of electricity as he threw a punch. Once again, he missed and E-Vac countered, kneeing the younger boy in the stomach before pinning him against the stalagmite wall, an arm over the boy's throat, cutting off his oxygen supply.

"Guess I'll start by finishing you off," said E-Vac, reeling back an arm.

"Ojiro, grab Kaminari!" Jirou shouted. But she didn't wait for him to move as her earphone jacks lashed out. It was true, her offensive abilities were limited without her hero costume. Her arms and legs lacked any kind of real power compared to her biological Quirk. But there was no way she would let those little facts stop her from fighting.

E-Vac dodged the jacks, hoping they would hit Kaminari instead. But her aim wasn't to hit her enemy, just loop them around his throat, yanking him away from his captive. This gave Ojiro a chance to rush in and rescue their classmate.

"Tch," E-Vac glared at Jirou. "How annoying."

Just like before, he pulled her towards him. He figured Jirou wouldn't fall for the same attack twice. So this time, he went for a punch. As his fist connected with Jirou's stomach, she closed her arms around his own and he realized this was the same thing that Ojiro had done to him and he to Ojiro. Then, with her earphone jacks, she sent them striking through his visor and stabbing him right in the eyes.

A smirk appeared on Jirou's face as she was tossed onto her back. "Let's see how you like being blind."

E-Vac threw off his visor as he started screaming out in agony. His hands were covering his face as he tried to recover from the attack. But the pain was much too overwhelming as tears rolled down his cheeks like raging rivers.

"Brutal," Kaminari choked out, still trying to get air back into his lungs.

This was Ojiro's chance as he kicked off the ground once more. He would end this the same way he started it. "Dynamic Slam!"

The tail made contact, impacting E-Vac's head and shooting him downwards into the ground. In that instant, E-Vac was knocked unconscious.

"Jirou!" Kaminari got back onto his feet and ran over to his fallen classmate. "Are you okay?"

The Hearing Hero was on her back, rubbing at her earlobes. They were a little sore from being tugged around the entire time but otherwise… "I'm fine." She then looked over at Ojiro who was using some of the fallen cables from the destroyed set to tie up their opponent. "Thanks Ojiro, we would've been in huge trouble if you weren't here."

"Yeah, that was pretty amazing," Kaminari agreed.

Ojiro let out an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Well we wouldn't have won without you, Jirou."

"This doofus," said Jirou, jabbing a thumb in Kaminari's direction, "made for some great bait though."

"Hey!"

 **Name** : Endo Souji

 **Alter-Ego** : E-Vac

 **Quirk** : Sense Block, by grabbing a person's hair, he is able to strip them of their ability to see, hear, taste, or smell. It doesn't matter where the hair comes from so long as he has it in his hands. This also makes it hard for him to bathe so every part of him is actually clean shaven except for his head. It's also the only way to tell the brothers apart. His legs, arms, and pits are smooth, completely devoid of hair.

 **Reason for Revenge** : The same as his brother. Once again, it is unclear whether or not he was being manipulated or controlled.


	6. Like a Villain

Even with her glasses on, no one dared to make eye contact with Hebime Rei. They just spoke to her ears or the end of hair or the bow on her uniform or on any random object behind her. There would be misunderstandings if it weren't for the fact that everyone was so clearly… afraid. Like just talking to her would ruin their lives.

"Hebime, you can't keep putting it off," her teacher sighed, keeping his eyes on a sheet of paper. "You need to figure out what high school to go to."

Hebime nodded in understanding. She had thought about U.A. since it was close and had, quite possibly, the best reputation as far as educational facilities go in the entire nation. It wasn't like the only notable alumni to come out of it were heroes either. Which was a good thing. Hebime had no interest in becoming a hero.

"I was thinking," she started, "maybe U.A."

"Hm? Are you sure?"

"Well…"

She was given time to think about it even though she kept putting it off. Entrance exams were just around the corner and if she didn't apply soon, she wouldn't be able to get in anywhere. But that's when the most peculiar thing happened. An attractive boy approached her during lunch and looked her in the eyes. Of course, nothing happened to him because of her glasses.

"Hebime!" he greeted cheerfully. Suddenly, tables closest to them turned to look because no one spoke like that to her. "I heard you're going for U.A.?"

"Whoa, seriously?"

"No one from our school's ever gone there!"

"She'd make a pretty cool hero."

Hebime was acutely aware of the eyes looking at her. For the first time in her life, she understood what it was like to be scared of them. But they were misunderstanding something. Her, a hero? She had wanted to apply at U.A. for the general courses. Sure, everyone that went there wanted to be a hero but there were hundreds of applicants to the hero course every year and only thirty-six ever got accepted.

"Yeah," Hebime nodded, wondering why she said it. "I'm going to be a hero."

The boy grinned widely. "That's so cool!"

Those around them nodded in agreement. And a second strange thing happened. She was asked to sit with a group.

From that day on, things changed around her. It wasn't like everyone just started being nicer but as the day of the exam got closer, they'd stop her in the hall or during breaks to tell her that they were rooting for her. It wasn't like people weren't friendly to her before but they never actively went out of their way to talk to her. Hebime felt like she couldn't let them down so she worked as hard as possible.

When she found out she had passed, her whole class threw a celebration feast for her at a Korean barbecue place. It was the first time people actually invited her out. Even if she knew they were only doing it because she was the first person from their school to make it into U.A., she felt genuinely happy.

That happiness was crushed so quickly.

"The person with the lowest score," Aizawa had said, "will be expelled."

Hebime felt a boulder drop down into her stomach. Her Quirk helped her make it through the entrance exam by a hair. She knew she had to have been the thirty-sixth person accepted because all she got was rescue points from freezing people and pushing them out of the way. How was it supposed to get her through this trial when they were all physical tests?

"Expelled?" a student that got in with recommendations sighed. "Man, I'm starting to feel anxious."

To hear him say that only made the boulder grow heavier. But Hebime knew she had to at least try.

Would it have been worse had she been the only one expelled? After all, she was the one ranked last. But then their teacher said they were all going to have to leave the school. Outraged, distraught, and mortified, everyone tried, in their own way, to fight it. But all Hebime could do was feel numb.

The news traveled fast. After one classmate bumped into her and asked about U.A., everyone knew.

At first, it was all, "I'm sorry." But then they went right back to ignoring her. They all lived in the same neighborhood so it wasn't like they could avoid each other. But it was like they had all vanished from her life. Then a rumor started spreading although she had no idea where it came from.

"I hear Hebime used her Quirk to take advantage of a guy."

"No way! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, he was bragging about it to his group of friends."

"Ugh, I always knew she was a whore."

"You know, she started thinking she was all that after—."

"Getting into U.A., I know."

"I bet she got through because she slept with a teacher."

Hebime sat in the stall of a soba restaurant, the place everyone from her middle school liked to go to because it was close and cheap. She had gone there to drown her sorrows in noodles. She hadn't expected to be forced deeper underwater with no chance to breathe.

A broken sob escaped from between her lips. She bit down on her thumb to keep from crying outright but it just flowed out of her. The girls outside stopped gossiping to listen but before they could say anything, the stall door opened and Hebime looked them both in the eye sans glasses. They froze on the spot, eyes wide and pupils trembling, as Hebime approached them.

"Did you know?" said Hebime quietly. "In old comics, villains had origin stories too."

-X-

The nature of Medusa's Quirk was obvious even for people who didn't know much about Greek mythology. Looking directly into her eyes would make you freeze up on the spot. That was a given seeing as Shouji was rendered unable to move as soon as he had made eye contact with their opponent.

Tokoyami sprinted out from behind his classmate, Dark Shadow enveloping the boy's body like dark armor. "Black Ankh!" He raised his arms and claws stretched out in front of him, racing towards his opponent at top speed. "Even if you freeze me, you can't stop my Quirk!"

"Is that right?" Medusa smirked.

She pointed her umbrella over at the pair, clicking a button on the handle, and suddenly, the entire canopy blasted a ray of bright white light. Dark Shadow was forced to retract back into its host while the guys squeezed their eyes shut from the blinding blast. Still, Shouji could hear her foot falls and the sound of sharp metal being drawn from a container of sorts.

"Tokoyami!"

Since they were no longer looking at each other, Shouji was able to move once more. So he raced over to his friend, grabbing him in his arms, and pivoting around on his heel so that his back faced Medusa. A blade dug into his shoulder, slashing downwards and slicing right through his costume. He let out a cry of agony.

Shouji beared the pain as he spun around and threw a right jab. But Medusa jumped back, avoiding the hit.

If the room was dark, Tokoyami was sure he would lose control of Dark Shadow again. Twice now, he had to be protected by Shouji. As his eyes fell upon the blood rolling down from his classmate's back, staining the clothes and dripping onto the ground, Tokoyami could feel bile rising up to his throat. His mind was plagued by flashbacks of the training camp that were limited to nightmares before this day.

He wasn't even paying attention to Medusa anymore.

Their enemy had grabbed onto the curved hand of her parasol and unsheathed a blade. In one hand was the weapon, colored crimson, and the other held the canopy part which apparently acted as a both a scabbard and a megawatt flashlight. She had no formal martial arts experience but she could emulate the agile movements of fencers.

Tokoyami was trembling as he tried stabilize his footing. "Shouji, your…"

"I'm fine," said Shouji, though his erratic breathing said otherwise. "We should focus on fighting." He made sure to look anywhere but at Medusa's eyes.

"Do you really think you can fight me without your eyes?" Medusa giggled.

Tokoyami took a deep breath, reminding himself of their current predicament. An idea came to mind which he whispered to Shouji, making sure to stay hidden in his shadow so that Medusa couldn't see. Without expressing that he agreed with the plan, Shouji just sprinted forward, eyes closed, Tokoyami right behind.

Medusa switched her weapons around. The sword in her right hand and the canopy in her left.

Shouji reeled back, prepared to throw a punch with everything he had. Medusa stood completely still, an unsettling smile on her face as she unflinchingly looked down at the morphed eyeball that had been watching her. The fist halted just three centimeters from her face but without looking, she opened up the canopy and a flash of light struck Dark Shadow who was trying to do a sneak attack on her.

"Damn… it…," Shouji grunted out.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Medusa laughed.

Tokoyami grabbed onto the sleeves of Shouji's costume, climbing up and over as quickly as he could. As he leapt over Shouji's head, he tried to slam his foot into their foe. But Medusa reattached her parasol and ducked down, hooking the curved handle onto Shouji's ankle and yanking, toppling the pair.

The bird-man refused to let this break his momentum. So as soon as he recovered from the fall, he unleashed Dark Shadow once more.

Medusa used her support item to dissolve Dark Shadow again. But Tokoyami kept running, hoping to strike her down.

Since taking his final exams against Ectoplasm, he became acutely aware of another one of his weaknesses. He depended on the strength of Dark Shadow so much that he neglected to train his physical body. That was why he wanted to develop Black Ankh as much as he could so that he could mitigate that weakness. But that didn't mean anything if he couldn't fight for himself.

"I'm not going to lose!" Tokoyami huffed.

Medusa scowled. "Neither am I!"

Tokoyami took a wild swing but Medusa dodged it and stuck out her umbrella, making contact with his throat. He hit the ground hard, the back of his head taking the brunt of the fall causing white spots to flash before his eyes. As he tried to sit up, he felt the pointed end of the parasol impact the center of his chest, stabbing into it though it thankfully wasn't sharp enough to break skin. But the main purpose was to cast light over his body so that Dark Shadow couldn't save him. Then a foot was stomped down onto his left wrist.

"Agh!" Tokoyami shouted, the pain shooting up his arm.

Shouji wanted so badly to move but Medusa only took her eyes off him for a moment. Not enough time for him to help. "Toko… yami…!"

Tokoyami was also struggling to get air in his lungs with the parasol on him. He clutched at the canopy in an attempt to throw it off. "You witch…"

Medusa pushed down on the wrist, grinding her foot. "I'm quite disappointed in you guys."

"How… frustrating…," Shouji grumbled. Even glaring was impossible for him.

"Our leader let us decide who to fight on our own," said Medusa. "From watching the sports festival, he said that anyone could take on Tokoyami after realizing he was weak to light. But I wanted to see for myself. I thought you were cute, Tokoyami, but I'm not a fan of weak men." The look she gave Shouji seemed to grow in intensity. "You, Shouji, on the other hand, impressed me today."

Shouji was beginning to understand the bane of Aizawa's dry eye condition. But for Medusa, she just had to blink fast and almost nothing would change.

"What… are you… talking about?" he asked.

"The way you keep jumping in to protect your friend," Medusa giggled, her cheeks flushed, "it's so… manly."

Shouji could see Tokoyami struggling underneath Medusa's foot. "I see… well then… now that I… think about it… you're really cute yourself."

Tokoyami's pain was momentarily forgotten as he tried to look at his classmate. "Eh?"

Even Medusa seemed surprised by this sudden development. "Really?" Her face was even redder than before and she almost forgot that she was supposed to be acting as a villain at the moment. "You really think I'm cute?" She took a deep breath to slow her heart rate. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

"Then…," said Shouji, "how about I prove it… with a kiss?"

"A kiss?!" Medusa and Tokoyami both blurted out in wildly different tones.

Without wasting a second, Medusa ran across the field, appearing directly in front of Shouji but never once breaking eye contact with him so he wouldn't move. Being directly in front of one another, there was a clear height difference of thirty centimeters. But she didn't let that stop her from reaching up to remove Shouji's mask.

"She's taller than you," Dark Shadow remarked.

Tokoyami didn't really hear it as he got back onto his feet. "Shouji…" A smirk appeared on his beak. "That's quite the act."

As soon as Medusa pulled down the mask, Shouji blew between his teeth right in Medusa's eyes. It forced them closed and Shouji was able to move once again. He tried to throw a punch against her stomach but she quickly jumped backwards, locking eyes. There was a clear expression of betrayal on her face as she realized she was tricked.

But before she could enact her vengeance against him, she heard someone coming from behind. She opened up the canopy and blasted a ray of light on her other opponent. But because she couldn't turn around, she had no idea that Dark Shadow was still housed inside its host.

"I said I won't lose!"

Tokoyami threw a hard punch at the canopy. He tore right through the umbrella and Medusa, hearing it, turned her head in time for the fist to connect against her cheek. She fell forward but since she was no longer looking at Shouji, he caught her, closing her up in his six arms so that she couldn't use her Quirk on either of them.

"Looks like we won," Shouji sighed in relief.

The parasol fell to Tokoyami's feet. "Thanks to you," he smiled.

While Dark Shadow kept their captive restrained, Tokoyami took the remains of Shouji's jacket to close up the wound on his back. They didn't need one of them bleeding out after they just got out of a rather tough scrap. Medusa was oddly silent throughout this but she refused to look at either of the boys.

"If it's any consolation," Dark Shadow remarked. "You really are cute."

"Don't fraternize with the captive," Tokoyami chided.

Dark Shadow glanced up at its host. "You're the one who hit a lady. I'm just consoling her."

Tokoyami pulled on the jacket sleeve, wincing when he felt something shift in his wrist. "Tch…"

The makeshift bandage was secure so Shouji turned to face his classmate, taking the smaller boy's left hand as gently as he could. Looking over the purplish bruise that had formed around it. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? I can locate Todoroki and get ice."

"I'm fine," said Tokoyami. "It's not like it's broken."

"You don't have to act cool about it."

"I'm not, I'm being serious."

Just then, they heard a sob coming from Medusa. Slowly, they looked down at the girl with her knees tucked up to her chest and head hanging down and they saw her shoulders convulsing violently. Tears rolled down from her eyes, hanging onto the end of her nose for a fraction of a second before dripping down to the ground.

"Am I that unlikable?" Medusa whimpered. "I didn't ask to be born with this Quirk… So why am I treated like a monster?"

It was only moments ago that she was trying to kill them. But Tokoyami and Shouji couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl. Maybe it was because her words resonated in them. Besides, the job of a hero was to protect and save those that were suffering and it was clear to them that Medusa had done so silently for all her life.

"You're beating yourself up too much," said Tokoyami.

Shouji nodded along. "It's a very wonderful Quirk."

"Shut up," Medusa choked out in between her sobs. She thought back to those two girls at the soba restaurant. Even though she had said what she said, in the end, she just left without doing anything else to them. She didn't have it in her to hurt them even if they did hurt her. "Do you know what it feels like… to be treated like a villain for something so trivial?"

"I do," Tokoyami and Shouji answered without hesitation.

Medusa paused, slowly looking up. Both heroes-in-training were crouched to her level and they didn't look away. They looked directly into her eyes but because her tears blurred her vision, neither one of them were affected by the Quirk. Even so, the important thing was the fact that they were unflinchingly looking at her.

"Kids used to think that I was the son of a villain," said Shouji, gesturing to his still-exposed mouth. "When they looked at my face, they got scared. Adults too… I'd have my name called, I'd turn around, and they would flinch in fear. It was an awful feeling to be judged solely on my appearance…"

Tokoyami looked over at Dark Shadow. "When I was young… I would lose control at night. I… hurt a lot of people because of that. They even called me cursed. It… hurt a lot because it felt like I was unwanted by everybody…"

Medusa wasn't sure what to say. All she could ask was, "How did you overcome that?"

"I know I'm not a curse," said Tokoyami. "And the people important to me know that as well. So I know I can keep moving forward." He then looked over at Shouji, thinking back to the training camp again. "And you'll find people who will still want you."

For the first time since his childhood, Shouji showed off a smile with his face. "Besides," he looked over at Tokoyami, thinking about the compliment he received from his classmate after their first day of shooting, "there's always someone out there with opinions that differ from the rest."

"What?" Tokoyami blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shouji chuckled, shaking his head. "Nothing."

A new well of tears formed in Medusa's eyes. But she no longer felt miserable. She didn't even feel alone anymore. "Thank you…"

 **Name** : Hebime Rei

 **Alter-Ego** : Medusa (This was actually a name used to bully her after the soba restaurant incident but she learned the mythology and discovered Medusa was more of a victim than a villain. Thus, she chose to adopt the name for herself.)

 **Quirk** : Stony Gaze, anyone who looks her directly in the eyes will be rendered unable to move. But if there's anything between herself and the target like glass or plastic, the Quirk won't activate. It also doesn't work if you make eye contact with her reflection. But unlike Aizawa's Quirk, blinking doesn't undo the effect of her Quirk unless her enemy can jump out of her line of vision in that time.

 **Reason for Revenge** : She was actually thinking of turning to villainy but after the soba restaurant incident, she didn't think she had it in her. However, while the bloodlust towards Aizawa hasn't diminished, she can't figure out why she was trying to taking out the class in order to obtain her revenge.

-X-

As Ashido, Sero, and Mineta made it back onto the ground floor, they found themselves in a room filled with mannequins and measuring tools. There was a bespectacled girl in there with bags under her eyes and red hair in a messy bun who let out a scream when they appeared. She threw out her hands and dresses and pants and other fabrics unstitched themselves, flying towards the group.

"Acid Veil!"

Ashido threw up a wall of acid that protected them. The strings dissolved the instant they touched it. Then Sero ran to the side, pointing his elbows at the girl, and dispensed tape at top speed, turning her into a human cocoon that fell to her side.

"Now let's strip search her!" Mineta shouted.

Ashido narrowed her eyes on the tiny pervert. "Sero? If you'd please?"

Mineta looked like the world's largest ball of tape by the time Sero was done. In the meantime, the pair that could still move decided they should do some investigating. They searched the room to see if they could find any diabolical plans but all they could find were extra outfits for the movie. It became clear to them that the girl they captured was the costume designer whom they met maybe thrice.

They found a U.A. student ID card on the floor. Picking it up, they discovered that their captive was named Kijinuu Minari, a second-year in the support department. In other words, they had tied up one of their respected seniors. Iida was sure to give them an earful later once he heard about this.

"Sorry about that," said Sero, removing the tape from her mouth. "We just reacted because you attacked us."

Ashido tried to lighten the mood. "On the bright side, we waxed your upper lip."

Kijinuu looked like she could pass out at any second seeing how tired she was. "Well you guys scared me." Ashido got to work with carefully trying to free the older girl with her Quirk. "With everything going on outside… I thought for sure I was about to be killed."

"Outside?" Sero repeated.

"Killed?" Ashido remarked.

Listening carefully, they could hear the sound of shouts and explosions. It was possible that both were caused by a single person they all knew but the set was huge. So that meant the sounds of the various fights were traveling from all over to reach that one point.

"We need to go save our friends," said Ashido. She glanced over Mineta. "Think we should just leave him here?"

"That would be cruel to Kijinuu-senpai," Sero pointed out.

"Yeah, good point."

"Wait!" Kijinuu exclaimed, getting their attention. "I… I'm not part of the group of villains fighting you but I can't detach myself from them either."

Kijinuu Minari was also one of the twenty kids that had been expelled the previous year by Aizawa. But while it was true she bore ill feelings towards the teacher, she also felt thankful towards him. The support department was a lot of fun and she was one of few in her hero class that actually qualified for the position having prior mechanical experience.

Kantoku had asked for a person with a sewing-related Quirk. Principal Nezu recommended Kijinuu. So that's how she ended up there.

It could've been pure coincidence. It just so happened that Kijinuu was selected by the director and the enemies were all her classmates for a day. She wasn't told about the secret plan to destroy class A and the teacher. But she felt she was still complicit. She had followed Kantoku's instructions to make a dress that would be difficult to cut, armored boots that were hard to remove without help, and the other costumes thin. She realized that last one was probably to make sure damage wouldn't be as cushioned.

"I'm guilty as well," Kijinuu murmured.

Mineta thought about the fact that he was ranked nineteenth for the Quirk apprehension test. "Whew, dodged a bullet."

"But Midoriya wasn't expelled in the end," Sero reminded him. "I wonder why…"

It wasn't exactly important for them to know at the moment. Their real concern was the fact that their teachers were captured and their classmates were thrust into another life or death situation. At the same time, knowing their friends, they were certain that everyone could handle it.

"I think," said Ashido, "we should focus on saving the senseis."

"Wouldn't the person who caught them be super powerful though?" Mineta asked, panicked.

Despite his appearance, Aizawa was still a pro hero. He gave two of their top students trouble during the end of term exams and he was even handicapped at the time. From their experience at the USJ invasion, it was clear that he made rapid-fire, intelligent decisions even in a tight spot against dozens of foes. For an individual who was a student to actually outmatch their teacher was daunting.

"Actually," said Kijinuu.

Being from the support course, she had access to tools and parts as well as the capabilities to invent items for, well, anything. Kantoku asked for super bright flashlights that looked like parasols. She didn't ask questions since she assumed it would just be for the film. Plus, Kantoku kind of got intimidating when he entered director mode. But she realized the true purpose once the attack happened.

"It was most likely to blind Aizawa-sensei," said Sero.

"In other words," Ashido grinned, "this guy's a total cheat! We can take him!"

Kijinuu wanted to absolve her guilt so she was fully prepared to help class A. "You'll most likely find Eigaku-kun in the control room. I can tell you where the security cameras are located so you can avoid being seen and get the jump on him."

Their senior also told them one other thing. Even though her former classmates were behind this, she didn't think any of them had it in them to actually kill people. She only knew them for less than a day, just a few hours. But she was certain of it.

"They're good people," said Kijinuu. "So please… save your class… and mine."

Ashido cracked her knuckles, a big smile on her face. "Our class can handle those jobs. We just have to handle this Eigaku!"

 **Name** : Kijinuu Minari

 **Alter-Ego** : None

 **Quirk** : Sewing, allows her to manipulate fabrics. She had been pressured to enter the hero course by her parents who thought that she would become the next Best Jeanist. After they saw how much happier she was in the support course, they decided they were wrong for not asking if becoming a hero was what she actually wanted.

 **Reason for Revenge** : None, she was unaware of the plot but provided the tools needed for the villains to gain an upper hand.


	7. Behind the Scenes

Juroku Chikara was born to be whispered about. To have people talk behind his back. To always be compared to his father. To always be either looked at with disdain or terror or some combination of both. Juroku Chikara was the son of an infamous villain who killed two hundred people simply for the fun of it.

No one could really say that Juroku was a very nice guy though no one dared refer to him as mean either. It wasn't like people could give a proper answer to the question since no one bothered to actually sit down and have a talk with him. It was much too frightening of a prospect to even consider since his face alone was enough to make children cry and wild animals flee the vicinity.

People could often find him in the gym, beating up a sandbag until it tore apart and spilled out its insides all over the floor. If it didn't break after some time, he would scream out in frustration before kicking the entire thing across the room where it practically exploded against the far wall. No one dared ban him from the gym either.

Juroku Chikara was to be feared.

"We have with us today, pro hero, Fat Gum!"

Juroku was breaking walnuts open with his bare hands as he sat underneath the kotatsu trying to keep warm. He was watching some random variety show where they interviewed pro heroes about their private lives. They don't really interest him but there was nothing else to watch on TV.

"It's great to be here!" Fat Gum smiled.

The man stood at two-hundred fifty centimeters in his fat form but there was absolutely nothing scary about his rotund shape. It was clear from the reactions of the women in the room that they were fans of his cuteness. They also had to be aware of just how strong Fat Gum was in spite of that.

"Hmph," Juroku grunted. "What's so great about being a hero anyway?"

The host asked Fat Gum the basic questions that anyone would be asked. How have you been? What have you been up to? Things like that.

Then they got more specific, concerning Fat Gum's career switch from police officer to pro hero. Of course, they wanted to know if Fat Gum had done so because the police force was often ridiculed for being lapdogs of the heroes. The heroes that actually went around fighting the criminals.

"It's true," Fat Gum admitted, "that I wanted to fight villainy at its source. But that doesn't mean I don't have the utmost respect for police work."

"Oh?"

Juroku rolled his eyes, expecting a generic, happy answer. It's why he preferred heroes like Endeavor who were brutally honest.

Fat Gum nodded, suddenly looking serious. "The job of heroes may be to capture those who abuse their Quirks and protect innocent civilians but it is the duty of the police to enforce justice. They determine the punishments of villains and for those they believe can lead a better life, they will do everything to rehabilitate them. Not all villains, are evil. Even they have reasons for their crimes."

No one had ever said those words before. Not to Juroku at least.

"Once a criminal, always a criminal," was more like it.

People believe that because the blood of a villain ran through him, he was fated to become one himself. But that wasn't true. He could pave and walk a new path on his own. His father didn't have to have anything to do with it.

"Hero courses," Juroku suddenly realized. "Shit, I have to look into high schools!"

For the first time in his life, he felt motivated to do something. He would change the fate that everyone had designed for him without his consent or consultation. And the one place that would make them all shut up and realize they were wrong was U.A. That meant he should get started on studying.

People noted the change in their normally aggressive schoolmate immediately. Instead of finding him in the gym, he was in the library. He actually followed teachers after classes to ask about things he didn't quite understand. They still avoided him but they were beginning to think differently about this person who was actually trying not to half-ass something. Usually, Juroku would give up on difficult tasks almost immediately.

"I'm going to get into U.A.," said Juroku, determined to speak this into existence. "No matter what."

For the father that got the death sentence. For the mother who was killed trying to get away from him. For the uncle that took him in.

Even though his father was executed years ago and was never in Juroku's life, he sometimes passed the cemetery where the villain was buried. Even murderers deserve proper burials, apparently. It wasn't like Juroku decided, after watching the Fat Gum interview, that he would forgive his father for those heinous crimes. But he was at least ready to face him.

"I got into U.A.," he said to the stone. "I'm going to use this power you gave me to save people. I hope that upsets you."

No matter how upsetting it was to a dead man. Nothing could be worse than hearing that he was expelled. It was a little later that Juroku learned that it was pro hero Eraserhead that had taken down the serial killer, Gravi-Crush. Juroku would never forgive his father but he couldn't forgive the teacher that had kicked him out of school for personal reasons either.

t least, that's what Juroku had convinced himself had happened.

"I won't stand for it," Juroku promised. "I'll make you bow down to me."

-X-

Bow Down watched the girls flattening into the ground. "It would be so easy…"

"Yet… he won't kill us," Uraraka noticed, speaking through grit teeth.

Uraraka and Tsuyu felt like their organs and bones would be liquefied by the sheer force of gravity pushing down on them. It was hard to think about what to do in order to counter. Not when they didn't know the limits of Bow Down's Quirk. It was obvious that unlike Uraraka, he didn't have to touch anything in order to activate it. So how exactly did it work?

Bow Down was slowly increasing the pressure on them. He wanted to destroy them in an instant but he was hesitating.

His reluctance was the girls' saving grace. Uraraka dragged her hand towards her face, scratching up some of the skin on her palm, but turned it just a little to touch her cheek. There was a faint glow as she became weightless, somewhat countering the gravity pushing down as she stood up and broke into a run through the field. She was being pushed down, but she was also pushing against it.

"Ochaco… chan," Tsuyu grunted. "You're… amazing… ribbit."

All of the training from her first internship came back to Uraraka. Gunhead martial arts was one thing she had when it came to fighting close quarters.

At some point, Uraraka started floating so she put her fingers together. "Release!"

Bow Down was surprised to see that the girl's anti-gravity powers was actually enough to help her back up. Once she got close, he was forced into the defensive. Uraraka realized it as soon as she stepped within a meter from him. He had a range of which he could use his Quirk and if he wasn't careful, he could accidentally hit himself as well.

The pair locked into combat with one another. Uraraka threw a right jab but Bow Down avoided it by pivoting around the blow.

"He's faster than he looks," Uraraka muttered.

"I didn't think you could throw a punch," Bow Down smirked.

Uraraka was suddenly forced back to the ground but only onto her knees. Blood stained the ground where she landed but she didn't let it stop her. If she could touch the enemy, then that would change the tide of the battle.

Perhaps she could try a different method. "If I can get him to lose focus on Tsu-chan."

A lot of long-range Quirks required one to look at their target. So that might be the weakness.

The enemy was large and bulked up, like Gunhead, one of the few people that Uraraka actually sparred against. She never won a match against him due to the clear difference in size, muscle, and experience. Luckily, Bow Down should only have two out of three of those things. For once, she had trumped an enemy in experience.

So long as she stayed close, he couldn't use his Quirk on her. So she sent a flurry of punches and kicks like Gunhead taught her. She made sure her form was perfect, covered any possible weak points, and aimed for Bow Down's head. If he tried to dodge by backing away, she made sure to follow until she got him to turn his back to Tsuyu.

Bow Down knew he couldn't be on the defensive forever. Even if this was a little girl, she wasn't as frail as she looked.

He grabbed her by the wrist at an oncoming punch. It was only when she attacked that an opening revealed itself. He then flipped her over his shoulder and onto her back, sending her into the ground with a painful-sounding crunch.

"Ochaco-chan!"

Bow Down realized too late that he lost focus. His Quirk was no longer active.

Tsuyu jumped high into the air and shot her tongue out towards Bow Down. But he quickly increased gravity on her.

"Not so fast!" Uraraka coughed. She suddenly locked her legs around his ankle and twisted, throwing him down onto the ground with her. "I won't lose!"

Bow Down could see the girl trying to use her Quirk on him by touching and there was also the sticky tongue coming for him from above. He would have to act fast in order to avoid getting caught. So he did something he rarely did, he used his Quirk on himself. All of a sudden, Uraraka's outstretched hand slammed down and Tsuyu's tongue, once it got close, did the same.

"Tsu-chan!" Uraraka yelped. Her fingers felt broken.

Tsuyu's tongue landed near her classmate's head and it was difficult to retract it. But she did in the end and there was disgusting taste of dirt on the bottom. "Ochaco…"

Bow Down quickly released them and took off before increasing the gravity once more, making sure they had no time to get out of his range. But Uraraka and Tsuyu were both standing against the pressure. Uraraka had touched Tsuyu's tongue just before it retreated into her mouth, allowing them both to resist his ability.

"That's not good," Bow Down grumbled.

"My legs are still shaking, ribbit," Tsuyu muttered.

"But at least we can fight," Uraraka huffed. "Let's go!"

The girls dashed forward as fast as they could given the circumstance. One of them sprinting and the other hopping. Bow Down got into the standard boxer position as they got closer, quickly countering their hits and striking back. It was clear that he was a heavy hitter so they had to be careful but they still got smacked around by backhands, elbows, and knees.

But Uraraka and Tsuyu refused to give in. They stayed close to make sure Bow Down wouldn't use his Quirk. He also had to be wary of Uraraka's fingertips as well as Tsuyu's tongue. He couldn't understand where their resilience came from.

"I'll crush you both!" Bow Down bellowed, he slammed his fists against their stomachs, sending them flying back.

But Uraraka grabbed hold of his forearm at the last second before propelling backwards. One of the most important lessons that Gunhead taught her was to fight on a field she was familiar with. And a lesson that Ryukyu drilled into her head was the importance of teamwork. The lessons passed onto her by great pro heroes, she wouldn't let them go to waste.

"Tsu-chan!" Uraraka coughed as she landed.

Bow Down was floating up and he steadily increased gravity on himself. At that moment, Uraraka quickly released him and Tsuyu lashed out her tongue like a whip. The increased gravity and sudden tongue slam that accelerated thanks to his own Quirk bashed him deep into the ground.

It didn't take very long for him to get back up. "Damn it!"

"He's still conscious after that?" Uraraka huffed. She had to keep her lunch down. "I've been using my Quirk too much."

Tsuyu went to her classmate's side, rubbing her back. "Ochaco-chan, are you okay, ribbit?"

"Why can't I do anything right?!" Bow Down roared.

As he raised an arm to use his Quirk on his foes once more, he found that he couldn't do it. But not because of some drawback from using it too much. Just looking at the girls already bruised and scratched up, he just couldn't. Wouldn't it make him as bad as his father? As the villain he worked so hard to reject?

Tsuyu looked up. "You're crying, ribbit."

Bow Down reached up and touched his cheeks. "I haven't lost… what the hell? What the hell is wrong with me?!"

"Hey," Uraraka rasped. Her throat was dry and she was breathing heavily. "If you wanted to take me on. Then leave Tsu-chan out of this."

"Ochaco-chan, ribbit?"

Uraraka pulled away from her friend and took on the signature stance that Gunhead taught her. "Let's fight properly. One on one!"

Bow Down couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even what he was seeing seemed to be some trick of the mind. Uraraka was standing before him with a determined smile on her face. Even with the blood on her knees and hands and cheeks and falling skin, she stood firm.

When he started crying, Uraraka had decided to acknowledge him as a good person. So she decided she would fight him regardless of how she felt.

"I haven't lost yet," Bow Down repeated to himself.

The pair lunged at each other and Tsuyu could only watch. Uraraka swung at him with all the force her petite body could muster though they were absorbed into Bow Down's palms. The larger fighter closed his hands around her fist, yanking her in so that he could deal a heavy blow into her abdomen with his knee. But Uraraka jumped up, delicately placing her feet onto his leg and pushed off, slamming her knee into Bow Down's chin.

"You got him, ribbit!" Tsuyu cheered.

Bow Down stumbled, letting go of his opponent. As he tried to stabilize his footing, he rubbed at his jaw while Uraraka did the same for her knee.

I've already failed at everything else," Bow Down huffed before trying to get her with a spin kick.

Uraraka ducked underneath and thrust herself forward, butting her head into his stomach. They both fell to the ground and Uraraka gripped the underside of Bow Down's knee, pushing it up to his chest. He let out a cry of pain as she tried to keep him in a tight hold. But he grasped her shoulder and flung her off.

"This is tougher… than Gunhead," Uraraka huffed as she tumbled back onto her feet.

Bow Down wiped at his lip. "I see why that Bakugou kid didn't hold back now."

They continued in this manner for what felt to be hours before they finally collapsed on the set, side by side. They were battered and beaten. While Uraraka didn't get many strong hits in, the moves she made counted for something. Bow Down had trouble striking someone that moved around like an agile bunny but each hit was made to hurt.

"I can't… believe it," Bow Down coughed. "You're… a hell of a lot… stronger than you look…"

Uraraka placed a hand over her chest, feeling the deep rise and falls. "I'm… not the same… as I was during the sports festival."

"That was… only a… couple of months ago." Bow Down was seriously craving water at that moment.

It seemed the reason why Uraraka didn't lose was because of experience. She got the upper hand because of both her internships and the various villain attacks that she got caught up in. It was what made her this strong in the first place.

Bow Down didn't have the energy to fight anymore so Tsuyu just propped the exhausted pair against a rock. They had him explain his reasoning for attacking them. What was bizarre to him was that there was a voice inside telling him to kill the girls. Yet a stronger force was preventing him from doing so.

"Gunhead told me," said Uraraka, "that you can learn a lot from someone from the way they fight. I don't think you're a villain."

Tsuyu nodded in agreement. "I also doubt Aizawa-sensei would allow his personal feelings involved in his work, ribbit."

"Tell us from the beginning," Uraraka urged, "about what happened on that day."

 **Name** : Juroku Chikara

 **Alter-Ego** : Bow Down

 **Quirk** : Gravity, he can increase pressure in specific areas although he has a limited range. He has no limit to how heavy he can make a person or thing nor where to place the range or even the number of places he can reach with his Quirk. However, he does need to be focused on the task or else it'll deactivate. He also fears using his Quirk too much.

 **Reason for Revenge** : Worked to reject the views of his peers by pursuing a career in heroics but they were dashed by Aizawa expelling him. It's possible that since he wanted to avoid being labeled as a villain for the rest of his life that he was able to resist whatever it was trying to influence him in the end.

-X-

Class A gathered onto the school grounds in their gym uniforms. Each of them felt nervous because this would be their very first examination of their high school career. The primary step towards becoming heroes. Furthermore, there was something intimidating about the way their homeroom teacher looked. Not to mention, even though they didn't know about one another, they knew that their individual Quirks weren't helpful in physical tests.

"Eigaku Geki," Aizawa called. "You got number one in the entrance exam, so why don't you give us a demonstration?"

Everyone watched as a very average looking kid with messy brown hair, a big smile, and stubble all over his face, walk up. He took the baseball that was tossed to him by their teacher and it was clear that he was ready to show off. But no one expected All Might of all heroes to suddenly materialize beside the boy.

"No way!"

"That's All Might!"

"He's drawn so different from the rest of us!"

Eigaku tossed the ball to the number one hero. "Let's knock this out of the park!"

All Might reeled back, taking on the pose of a professional baseball pitcher, and threw it hard. It whistled through the air, breaking the sound barrier and landed somewhere far away. Aizawa raised a device showing just how far it went and everyone was shocked to see a score of over eight hundred kilometers.

"How is that fair?" Hebime asked.

Juroku had a set frown. "He didn't even throw it himself."

"Hey," Eigaku play-pouted. "Sensei said I can use my Quirk any way I want."

All Might dissolved into a golden mist that funneled into the boy's head. Everyone blinked and rubbed at their eyes to make sure they were seeing right. That's when it was explained that he had a Quirk that allowed him to create physical manifestations of anything he imagined. Although they couldn't do a thing without him looking so they were essentially his puppets.

One of the students who got in through recommendations raised a finger. "So it's a Ventriloquism Quirk!"

"It's not a Ventriloquism Quirk!" Eigaku snapped. "It's an Imagination Quirk!"

The others in class started whispering about what a cheap Quirk it was. None of them had any doubts that this kid was going to take the top spot in the test. After all, he had gotten over a hundred points total during the entrance exam, a supposed top score for U.A.

Aizawa took a deep breath before breaking the news over their heads. "By the way, the person with the worst score will be expelled."

Everyone who had worked so hard to reach the point they were at was absolutely stunned to hear this. Eigaku didn't seem to be the least bit worried. But the boy who got in through recommendations, with a smile on his face, admitted to feeling anxious. Immediately afterwards, everyone felt a pit growing in their stomachs.

"He can't have the authority for that," Houseki muttered. "Can he?"

"Souji, don't be nervous," said Souichi.

His brother was already shaking. "My Quirk can't help me here though."

"You'll be fine."

Everyone started to prepare themselves in their own ways for the upcoming events. Some were talking themselves up, others were silently praying, and those that were more practical were doing stretches. Aizawa then told them to get into position so that they could get started.

It was strange but everyone felt this seizing up in their chests, making it difficult to concentrate on each event. It was clear that many of them were upset with the scores they ended up getting as they thought about how they compared to their results in the past. There were few people that weren't worried and one of them was Eigaku who depended on his All Might creation to do every single event.

By the end, it was as they expected, he ended up getting first. To everyone's surprise, those that got in through recommendations actually did rather poorly.

"I'm feeling pretty mad about my results," one of them sighed, having gotten nineteenth.

"It really is frustrating," Houseki agreed, disappointed in herself. "But I guess it can't be helped…"

Aizawa flicked the results away with a heavy scowl. Since it didn't look that much different from his usual expression, it was difficult to tell exactly what he was thinking. Just what had upset him so? That is, if he really was upset.

"If you have anything you left in the classroom," said Aizawa, "I suggest you go pick them up."

Hebime assumed that he was referring to her. "Yes, sir…"

"All of you," Aizawa continued, turning his back on the class. Eigaku's smile fell and everyone else had their eyes widen in shock. "None of you have the potential to become great heroes. I see no point in teaching any of you."

"That's not fair!" Souichi cried out.

Another student marched right up to the teacher, turning to face him. "You said the person with the lowest score would be expelled!"

Kijinuu scratched at his bald head. "I knew there was no point to any of this."

Eigaku and Houseki both stood there dumbstruck, unsure of what to do as the rest of their classmates either argued or called their parents. The only person that didn't seem upset about this was the other student that got in through recommendations. He was smiling like he had when they started the test even though he was being kicked out too. It was like he had expected this and was just waiting for it.

"H—Hold on, you can't be serious," Eigaku stammered. "Don't you know that this is my dream school?"

"If so then you should've studied more about why U.A. only takes the best," Aizawa glared.

"The hell does that even mean?!"

"However, since all of you are here, that means your grades are good enough for the general courses at least." Aizawa turned to the rest of the class with application papers. "There is one spot left there and another in the support course but you'll have to take another quick mock exam to get into that one."

"Stop… stop ignoring me!"

-X-

Aizawa knew that he could come off as a little harsh sometimes. To be honest, had he been a student and had a teacher like him, it wouldn't exactly be favorable. Still, he didn't think he was wrong for expelling the students although he did feel _something_ went wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

As for Eigaku, the boy was fixated on the screens. If he looked away, then Kantoku would simply become a mere puppet and would be caught by the boy giving chase. Unfortunately, it looked like Midoriya Izuku was catching up quickly. Not to mention, in his periphery, he could see his other allies falling one by one.

"Useless, the lot of them," Eigaku grumbled.

All Might wondered if he should try calling out to the other teacher. "Pst," he hissed, "Aizawa, who is this young man, anyway?"

Aizawa didn't bother to lower his voice. "A former student of mine. Part of the class I expelled last year."

"Seriously?" All Might muttered. "This is why I say you're too mean!"

"Because they'll tie us up and try to kill us?"

"Well… I didn't think they'd go that far."

Come to think of it, why were they going this far? It didn't make sense to All Might if they were all formerly trying to become pro heroes. It seemed counterintuitive then to go on the opposite route. It was clear that Aizawa was thinking the same. But All Might couldn't concern himself with the reasons, he was too preoccupied with watching the students fight, worry in his expression.

Eigaku to turn to face his captives although he spoke to them directly. "Are you two old men done talking?"

"Old?!" All Might gasped, coughing up blood. "I've kept my age from the media, you have no idea how old I am!"

"Like I can't surmise what it is," Eigaku scoffed, a smug grin on his face.

Aizawa couldn't witness this exchange with his own eyes but it hit him then. The thing that had been bothering him. Eigaku depended mainly on his imagined All Might during both the entrance exam and the Quirk apprehension test. In other words, it shouldn't be a stretch to say that Eigaku was a huge fan of the number one hero. Why would a fan want to kill his hero?

"Someone else is behind this," Aizawa murmured to himself.


	8. Heroes' Growth

"Hey, hey, monkey butt!"

Gorisaki Saru chose not to respond to that. The boy with the gorilla body just kept his eyes down on his book, adjusted his sweater vest, and plugged in his earbuds playing Mozart. If he chose to react to the insulting nickname, then he would surely yell or throw a book or flip the table and subsequently get thrown out of the library. Possibly banned this time since it would make it his third offense.

Someone slid into the chair across from him. "Oh? What's wrong? Why're you ignoring me?"

Those with animal-related Quirks were often trodden upon by others. When the first baby was born with a Wolf Quirk, the mother was cast out of society because people started depraved rumors about her. It was only later did analysts looked into the wolf child only to discover that despite his bestial appearance, he was most definitely human.

The torment was nowhere near as bad as it was for Gorisaki's ancestors. But from time to time, there would be one or two that would poke fun at him. It became more fun for his peers to do so when they realized how bad his temper was because people would put the blame on him.

"Leave me alone," Gorisaki grumbled.

"What are you going to do?" the other boy smirked, "Throw literal shit at me?"

Gorisaki got up and started towards the front desk to check out the book. He passed by a rack of magazines and on the front covers were all attractive heroes. All Might, Endeavor, Midnight, and Uwabami, even if the issue was actually about someone like Gang Orca or Captain Selkie. Conventions of attraction was one thing that had yet to change for animal-like humans.

"It'll be like you're dating an animal."

"Yeah, that's like totally gross."

"What if you put them on a leash?"

"And pretend they're your pet?"

"Do you have to give them tick baths?"

Gorisaki heard those things all the time throughout his middle school career. Although none of it had actually been directed at him. He could only imagine how bad it was for the kid with the Doberman Quirk especially since with his ears, he'd be able to hear them all.

He turned to glare at his classmate. "Can you stop following me?"

But he came face to face with a dog. "Gorisaki-san, sorry! I was going to call out but…"

"Inuke?" Gorisaki blinked. "No, don't apologize, I thought you were someone else."

Even though Gorisaki and Inuke Monoda went to the same school, they didn't really interact much. The former was studying for high school entrance exams all the time even though he didn't have any particular goal in mind. The latter preferred to hang out with the guys from his own class.

Inuke clutched at his math textbook, holding it to his chest, as he stared at the tiled floor between them. "Gorisaki-san, I… wanted to ask if you could tutor me. I know you're busy but my grades are slipping and I know you're really smart so…"

"Ah," Gorisaki scratched at his hairy chin, "you're thinking of U.A., right?"

"Mm, I want to be a hero that other animal Quirk people can look up to," Inuke smiled.

Gorisaki found that goal to be admirable. But more importantly, it hadn't occurred to him that there would be someone else that thought like him. That was the incorrect assumption. The world was filled with billions of people. Each with their own unique thoughts but it was impossible for there to be only one person to think a certain way.

"That's my goal as well," said Gorisaki, smiling. "Let's work hard to get into U.A. together."

"I see no point in teaching any of you."

The entire class reacted in every way imaginable. Anger, despair, and shock seemed to overflow from the mixing of their voices as they fought or coped against the decision. Gorisaki was stunned at first but once the words had fully registered, upon seeing Inuke's tears, he flew into a rage. He tried to attack their teacher who tied him up in his capture weapon easily.

"I worked so hard to get in here!" Gorisaki roared, tears rolling down his face. "Me and my best friend… we finally made it here…"

Inuke took a step forward. "Gorisaki-san…"

"If you're that determined to be here…," said Aizawa, "then try again next year."

Next year? Gorisaki wanted so badly to get into U.A. again but the students that time around filled in the thirty-six available spots one after the other. He thought he had an advantage having taken the test before but unlike the first time they took it, no one ever took out the zero point robot. He had watched it happen for himself. The other students moved at breakneck speed to rack up points.

Inuke, on the other hand, settled for a different school. They stayed friends but Inuke's regret of not being in U.A. was obvious.

It fanned the flames of the rage inside Gorisaki's heart which only increased with each news story that passed with Aizawa's class A involved. USJ, Hero Killer Stain, the summer training camp fiasco, All Might VS All For One, they just piled on top of one another and he found himself hating them. They were tarnishing the good name of the school his best friend wanted to go to so badly. Yet Aizawa kept them around.

"The hell did he mean?" Gorisaki grumbled. "They know what U.A. stands for more than we do?"

-X-

Satou knew how many grams of sugar were in nearly every food product. With the thirty that was in the chocolate bar he had just consumed, he could last for nine minutes in his strengthened form. That should be plenty to take down one gorilla-like human.

The pair charged at each other but while the similarities in their body shapes were clear, so was the difference in ability. Go-Go-Rilla was incredibly fast and while his punches looked like were thrown wildly, there was a certain calculation to them. Satou was forced into the defensive which wasn't too much of a problem. The issue was that he would hit his time limit before he even got a shot in.

"Gorillas are already smart to begin with," said Koda, "Those acrobatic movements also make it hard for Satou to keep up."

Having teamed up for the cavalry battle during the sports festival, the onlookers were well aware of their classmate's weaknesses. For one thing, he was extremely slow. Jirou, in front, had to lower her pace in order to make sure she wasn't running faster than the other horses during the event.

"You can do it, Satou-kun!" Hagakure cheered.

Koda was trying his best to keep the actual horses in check. "Why won't they listen to me?"

Satou closed in his arms, keeping them locked close to his chest, absorbing blow after blow. He looked through the gaps of his limbs in search of an opening. But while he was certain there were many, Go-Go-Rilla was moving too fast for him to see any. The beast even somersaulted or pivoted around to the side and back of the U.A. student to get out of his line of vision.

"Damn it," Satou muttered. He was counting the seconds in his head. Maybe a minute or two had passed.

Go-Go-Rilla slammed his fists into the ground and swung his legs out, putting all of his impressive weight into his lower body. They slammed into Satou's head and he flew off. Koda and Hagakure watched as he rolled through the dirt.

"Satou-san!" Koda cried out.

"Get up!" Hagakure urged. "We believe in you!"

Go-Go-Rilla knew that Satou was the bigger threat here being the one with the best offensive capabilities. But no one really got to see much of Koda and Hagakure in the festival. Who really knew what the pair was actually capable of. So he used this chance to charge at them.

"I'll take you two down first!" Go-Go-Rilla bellowed.

Hagakure stripped off her shirt at lightspeed and dashed in front of her classmate. "Koda-kun, close your eyes! Light Refraction!"

Go-Go-Rilla screeched to a stop when he suddenly became literally flashed, blinded by the lights from above being refracted through her body. Koda squinted, trying to see the silhouette of their opponent as he dashed forward. He put as much force as he could into his fist as he punched Go-Go-Rilla across the face. What he lacked in speed, he made up for in strength thanks to his big body.

Go-Go-Rilla landed with a thud but tumbled back onto his feet quickly. "So I see you've got decent teamwork…"

"Don't count me out either!"

The beast was nearly struck once again by Satou this time. But he ducked below the fist and smashed his foot into Satou's stomach as a counterattack. The younger boy was launched across the field once more but he endured it. As soon as he landed, he ran right back in.

Koda massaged his slightly throbbing hand. There was no denying that he was strong but he didn't like fighting with his fists. "Satou-san…"

"He'll be fine," said Hagakure, taking off the rest of her clothes. "I'll assist him when I see an opening."

Koda couldn't believe how easily she could do that even being invisible. "I think you might be the bravest of us, Hagakure-san."

Satou and Go-Go-Rilla were trying their best to get each other. With each second that passed, Satou became more reckless, desperate to get a hit in. But Go-Go-Rilla, rather than risk taking on a heavy hit, was extremely cautious. He refused to get struck as he parried Satou's punches and kicks, before chopping at his throat given the chance. Satou clutched at his neck as he fell to a knee.

Hagakure took this moment to sprint forward. Her steps were silent as she seemed to cut through the air like a knife. It wasn't long before she was on top of Go-Go-Rilla, her leg raised and swinging right for the side of his head. But a giant hand closed around her ankle, stopping just short of his nose.

"Uh-oh," Hagakure gulped.

Go-Go-Rilla straightened up, holding the girl upside down so that she dangled from his full height. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me?"

"It was more of a hope," Hagakure said.

She was flung across the field. Koda wished he knew where her yelp was coming from so that he could catch her. But she landed with a thud to the right of him. "Hagakure-san!" Koda went to what he had thought was he side, too afraid to actually touch her, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hagakure grunted. "But my eyes are up here."

Koda turned bright red as he shifted his eyes. "Sorry."

"Those are my legs."

"Sorry…"

Satou climbed back onto his feet, trying to figure out how many minutes had passed since he ate. Even if the time limit wasn't coming close, he was still starting to feel the side-effects. The longer it went on, the worse his cognitive functions would become and the sleepier he got. If he didn't finish things off quick then he might end up shutting down before the final blow even got him.

Go-Go-Rilla seemed to be ignoring him now though. He was running straight for Koda. Satou quickly lunged forward, tackling their foe and pushing him down. The pair rolled around, grappling each other, trying to use their proximity to beat one another down.

"So persistent!" Go-Go-Rilla grunted. He slammed his feet into Satou's chest and knocked him off.

Satou's head was getting foggy. "How long has it been…?"

"Nine minutes are almost up!" Hagakure cried out. "Oh, why can't these stupid animals do what you say?!"

Koda let out a horrified gasp, closing his hands around one of the horse's ears like a mother trying to keep her child from hearing a swear word. But then he felt something strange. There was something lodged inside the ear canal and when he uncovered them, looking closely, he saw what looked to be rolled-up, dried bunches of glue.

"So that's why," said Koda.

Hagakure apologized at first for calling the animals stupid but then noticed his expression as he tried to dig something out of the ear. She stood up on her toes to look in the other one for herself. The horse fidgeted around, trying to get out of the gazes of the students but she saw it.

"Let me do it," Hagakure said. "My fingers are thinner."

Koda let her handle it while he tried to keep the animals still. "Who could do something so horrible to the horses? Horses?"

"What about horses?" Hagakure asked, once she finished.

Satou was knocked back once more, having run out of the sugar completely, his muscles deflating. The one girl there quickly rushed back onto the battlefield in order to help out. Light refracted through her body, blinding Go-Go-Rilla once more although he didn't fall for it like last time. He backhanded the girl when she got too close, throwing her back to the ground.

"Hagakure!" Satou coughed. "Crap, my head…" He was barely keeping his eyelids open and now his strength had been depleted.

"You're finished!" Go-Go-Rilla roared.

Suddenly, Koda appeared in between the enemy and his friend, riding horseback. The quadruped spun around and slammed her hooves into the gorilla's chest, sending him flying across the field. The rider then pulled out a ziploc bag from his back pocket with a bunch of sliced apples, tossing it to his classmate. "Satou-san!" They were supposed to be treats for the horses but this was more important.

Satou had to think. "A whole apple is… nineteen grams?" He poured half of the contents into his mouth before letting it drop to his feet. "That's perfect, Koda!"

Go-Go-Rilla stood back, flying into one of his infamous rages as he stampeded towards Koda. "You'll pay for that!"

Satou cut him off halfway. "Sugarman Rush!" He threw punches as fast as he could. Even if he was slow and leaving himself open in every possible place, there was a guarantee that he could win with this special move. Impact after impact, striking on the shoulders, elbows, arms, forearms, chest, stomach, thighs, before the last one blasted Go-Go-Rilla directly in the face. "Heh… I win…"

The gorilla was bruised all over and bleeding from his nose as he tilted backwards, falling flat on his back. The others raised their arms in celebration but then Satou collapsed as well. Hagakure scrambled to get her clothes on while Koda helped their classmate up.

"You knocked him out cold!" Hagakure grinned as she slipped on her dirt-stained shirt. "Way to go, Satou!"

Koda nodded in agreement. "You were really amazing!"

"Thanks," Satou sighed. "Think you can bring a bag of flour from the kitchen so I can use it as a pillow?"

 **Name** : Gorisaki Saru

 **Alter-Ego** : Go-Go-Rilla

 **Quirk** : Gorilla, can do anything that a gorilla can do. Extremely human in appearance, just hairier, bigger, and can grab things with his feet.

 **Reason for Revenge** : Felt that his dream of creating a better society for those with animal Quirks was dashed all too quickly and unfairly by Aizawa. More importantly, felt it was taken from Inuke, his best friend, too quickly. Also has a bit of a temper so it's possible that the puppetmaster took advantage of that. He doesn't like when his anger takes over his intellect but it can't be helped at times.

-X-

Gosun Kishi remembered being in the backyard with a tin foil hat and a cardboard sword, chasing after his father in the dew-kissed grass. His mother sat in a rocking chair, reading to herself and the baby in her belly. When his father was stabbed, holding the makeshift weapon in his armpit, he would make his last words and fall.

"The hero always wins!" Gosun cheered.

"That's right," his father laughed. "The hero always wins."

His mother closed the book, leaving it on her lap as she smiled towards her six year old son. "Do you know what's most important to hero?"

"What's that?"

"Having something worth protecting." His mother leaned forward. "Do you have something like that?"

Gosun, like any aspiring hero that was looking to be a hero rather than fame and fortune, wanted to protect the smiles of his parents. They looked down on him with such kindness. He never wanted to see them cry like at grandma's funeral or when the scary man in the suit started wrecking things in their restaurant.

"I'll always protect you guys!" Gosun grinned.

"Of course," his parents said. "You're our hero."

As Gosun grew older, he'd begun to learn how unfair the world was.

His mother, who loved children more than anyone else, took such good care of him. Fed him, clothed him, gave him everything he could ever want. She was even a kindergarten teacher because of how much she loved kids though she gave it up to open a restaurant with her husband and step-son whom she loved so much. So why did she have to suffer a miscarriage?

Their restaurant was in a bad position and when his mother fell ill, the bills only piled on. His father's dreams were slowly being crushed and losing a child before they even had him or her was another nail into his early coffin.

It was only when Gosun was in middle school that he learned they were neck-deep in debt.

One day, he came home to find his father prostrated and begging. He was asking for a little more time to get the money together for the loan sharks. Gosun could've sent them running with the use of his Quirk which he had refined over the years but he knew it would only make things worse. They had to pay for his mother's operations and medicine so what choice did they have?

"Let me help out," said Gosun one day, "you can't handle the restaurant by yourself."

"What are you talking about?" his father huffed. "You have school and entrance exams are coming up."

Gosun knew that he had to become a hero as soon as possible. He figured U.A. would help him reach that goal. But on the day he was expelled, was the very same day he got a tearful call from his father. Gosun fled the school grounds without even arguing with the teacher to rethink the decision, getting a cab, riding out of the prefecture, and going to his mother's side.

It was too late.

His father became completely despondent. No longer wanting to run the restaurant. The loan sharks began pestering them harder. So Gosun quit school to help out despite the weak protests that came from his broken parent.

"If I was still in U.A.," Gosun stated one day, "would you be this upset?"

His father didn't answer. He just played with his bowl of rice until it became cold. Gosun finished his dinner and locked himself in his room.

-X-

Iida was struggling to remove the boots, remembering only then that Midoriya and Uraraka were always helping him with his costume. Aoyama always carried his belt on him so he all he had to do was unbutton his shirt. Without hesitating, he fired his navel laser at their opponent rushing towards him.

"Your weakness is obvious!" Cavalier smirked as he dodged the attack. "I'll mess you guys up for sure!"

The armored foe wasn't nearly as agile as Ashido. But the range of the shot was not only limited but it wasn't like Aoyama could risk shooting for too long or else he would suffer from some serious bowel troubles. It didn't seem like Cavalier was aiming for him though but Iida instead.

"Monsieur Iida!" Aoyama gasped.

Cavalier swung his sword at the class rep with the intent to decapitate the bespectacled boy. "Die, you copycat!"

Iida raised his arms, knowing that his costume was made out of a much lighter substance than most metals. It was hardly metal. So the blade broke through easily, slicing into his forearms and drawing blood. It stung badly but at least he was alive so he started running backwards.

Aoyama was unsure of what to do. If he fired his laser, then he might accidentally hit his classmate.

"We need to figure out his Quirk," Iida muttered to himself.

Cavalier took a step and suddenly, it was like the ground began to shift. A trail of spikes were produced, leading all the way to the younger boy. Abruptly, a giant stalagmite appeared behind Iida, forcing him to stop.

"I got you now!" Cavalier cackled, thrusting the blade forward.

Iida pressed the sole of his foot against the obstruction and kicked off. He flipped through the air and over Cavalier's head. If the expectation of their enemies was that this class A was the same as the ones from the sports festival, then they were sorely mistaken. Iida had been through a lot since then. He even took the name of the hero he so admired after an encounter with the infamous hero killer.

"Don't underestimate me!" Iida yelled. He landed on his feet, spun around and slammed his leg into the small of Cavalier's back, pinning him up against the stalagmite. Then, he disarmed his foe, grabbing the sword and slashed at his own armaments, causing the armor encasing his legs to fall apart, releasing his engines. "I am Ingenium!" If he lost here, he wouldn't be worthy of the name.

Cavalier tried to turn his face. "Snotty brat!"

The knight slammed his hands into the wall, causing more spikes to pierce forward. Iida had to back away to avoid getting stabbed. It didn't seem like it was a stalagmite Quirk or at least not specifically. There was something familiar in the way his powers acted.

"Aoyama, does his Quirk remind you of anything?" asked Iida.

The Frenchman took a moment to think. "Monsieur Honenuki, from class B?"

"That's it!" Iida realized. "Honenuki has a Soften Quirk. This guy… must have a Sharpen Quirk."

"Tch, figured out already?" Cavalier scoffed. He touched his fingertips to each other and suddenly, his armored gloves turned into sharpened claws. "Not that it'll help you much!" Like a feral cat, he started slashing wildly at the other boy.

Iida raised the sword in defense only for the weapon to be hacked into multiple parts. "That's sharp, alright!" Iida yelped in a panic.

The class rep boosted up his engines and took off, grabbing Aoyama in the process. Cavalier chased after them, his maniacal laughter ringing in their ears. It was obvious that he couldn't catch up but with each long stride he took, sharp towers of earth protruded out in front of the two young heroes.

"Monsieur Iida, hold me out in front and get ready to kick!" Aoyama stated.

"What?" Iida blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Trust me! We're about to go Plus Ultra!" Aoyama assured him.

Iida was unsure but it wasn't like he could come up with any semblance of a strategy while on the run and trying not to get catapulted into the sky. So he did what he was told albeit reluctantly. "I'm trusting you on this!"

"Art of Seduction!"

All of a sudden, a big burst of light blasted forward, destroying the stalagmites directly in front. Iida was shot backwards from the blast and he was airborne. But given the wounds on his arms and the surprise of the attack, he was forced to let go of the shorter boy. Cavalier's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the other boy soaring towards him.

Iida activated his engines. In his current position, he would start doing multiple backflips like he had done when Uraraka made him lighter and he smacked into the wall above the exit sign. It wasn't the most graceful act but it got him closer to the opponent at a much faster rate. Had Cavalier not ducked to the side, he would've been kicked on top of the head and crushed into the ground. Iida, on the other hand, got a painful crash landing.

"Man, you guys are crazier than I thought!" Cavalier cackled. "I mean, what the hell kind of plan—?!"

"Art of Seduction!"

Cavalier was struck head on by the navel laser. It hurt like hell as there was a ton of destructive power contained in such a sparkly attack. Cavalier was almost knocked unconscious just from that had he not the willpower to stand firm.

"Tch, I got distracted," Cavalier muttered.

Aoyama was sweating. "I was really hoping that would finish you…"

The ground trembled and a spike shot out from underneath Aoyama. But because of how it was positioned, it was like he was being catapulted towards Cavalier who sharpened the armor around his forearm into a sharp blade. It looked like a how a certain alchemist from a popular shounen manga would fashion his own metallic appendage.

"Die!" he yelled.

"Recipro Burst!"

Iida covered the distance in no time, body slamming Aoyama out of the way and taking the strike himself. He let out an agonized cry as Aoyama landed with a crash, sending up dust in his wake. With a smirk, Cavalier retrieved his hand only to realize there was a lack of blood.

Cavalier let out a gasp when he realized what had happened. "In his armpit?"

Iida grinned. There was supposed to be a scene in which Aoyama and he were locked in a swordfight. The final stabbing would've resulted in a strike between the side and the arm so that it would look as though Iida was fatally wounded.

"Eight more seconds," Iida said to himself.

The class rep slammed his knee into Cavalier's chin, sending him skywards. Then he took off towards one of the stalagmites, running up it and counting down the seconds. Then at the last second, before his calves had overheated, he kicked off, rocketed forward, and slammed his opponent on the head. With the force of the kick and gravity, Cavalier rocketed straight back down into the ground.

"Monsieur Iida," Aoyama coughed, clutching at his wounds. "You truly sparkle."

Iida landed with a crouch though from such a height, he still felt a numbness in his joints upon hitting the ground. His arms needed to be treated immediately as well. But he was relieved to have finished things without getting too many injuries.

"Aoyama, are you okay?" asked Iida. "I didn't push you too hard, did I?"

The other boy shook his head. "Non, non, I am just fine, thanks to you."

Cavalier laid on the ground, conscious but barely. "The hero always win… huh."

 **Name** : Guson Kishi

 **Alter-Ego** : Cavalier

 **Quirk** : Sharpen, capable of turning anything into a point. As long as the end is narrow and arrow-like, then it fits under his capabilities.

 **Reason for Revenge** : His family is deep in debt due to trying to keep a business that failed afloat and taking care of a sickly mother. However, his mother passed away on the same day Gosun was expelled, amplifying the grief he felt that day. In order to find someone to blame, he looked towards Aizawa.


	9. The Mighty Fall

Yaoyorozu pulled her legs up to her chest, eyelids weighed down by anchors, and stomach sinking into her body. The graphene sword laid forgotten at her feet. Houseki watched the younger girl, wishing she could do something to help. But it wasn't like she had any food on her.

The Everything Hero kept whispering to herself, "Humans can survive up to three weeks without food," over and over again. But she was too afraid of falling asleep because she thought she might never wake up again. She was already starting to hallucinate. The sound of hooves galloping across the quarry in the distance seemed to get louder and louder. Did the Grim Reaper ride a horse?

"Over here!" Houseki yelled.

"Yao-Momo!"

Yaoyorozu's eyes snapped open. "Hagakure-san…?"

A horse came to a sudden halt, whinnying and bucking, nearly throwing off the two riders. Hagakure dismounted, tearing open the Ziploc bag of apple slices though there weren't many left. She quickly started feeding her starving classmate but it wouldn't help much. There wasn't exactly a lot of fat in the fruit but it would at least help a bit.

"Why did you have to skip lunch?" Hagakure winced.

Before everything became as chaotic as it did, class A was still shooting a movie. Yaoyorozu was nervous to do the wedding scene and didn't want to throw up so she chose not to eat anything. It was clear that she had been suffering but as a hero, she had to prioritize the others that were in trouble.

Still, Todoroki didn't like having to leave her alone. So he shot off fireballs towards the sky like flares, even writing the hiragana for food in hopes that someone would understand. Houseki had seen it for herself even if Yaoyorozu was too out of it to.

"We should take her back," said Koda. "Once the others break through the door, we can get food."

Hagakure nodded. "By the way, did your birds find Jirou's group?"

Koda sent the doves that were for the wedding scene to look for their scattered class. Hopefully, each of them would be able to figure it out and follow the feathery creatures all the way back to Satou. As if on cue, a melodic tweeting could be heard in the distance, signalling Koda that almost everyone had been found.

"Jirou-san's team…," Koda muttered before gasping. "Hagakure-san, watch over them! I'll be right back!"

"Huh? Wait!"

Unfortunately, Koda took off on the horse despite her protests. They couldn't really figure out what he was thinking but Hagakure knew that she couldn't carry both girls back. So for the time being, they would just have to sit and trust that Koda knew what he was doing.

Satou had told the other two that he would be okay on his own but it seemed his mental and physical state was far worse than he had expected. Not long after they'd left, he passed out against the metal door before he could even search for a mechanism to undo the forced lockdown. Thankfully, a couple of other class A students showed up, led by white birds.

Shouji slowly let down Uraraka and Hebime from his arms before setting Gorisaki free from the gaze of the snorting horse. Tokoyami commanded Dark Shadow to place Juroku down beside the other two enemies, if they could even be called that anymore. Meanwhile, Tsuyu hopped over to Satou's side, making sure he wasn't dying before laying him down flat on a bed of flour so that he could rest easier.

"Guys!" someone called out.

"Kirishima!" Uraraka would've waved but she hurt too much. "You're okay too!"

"Hm? Where's Bakugou?" asked Shouji.

"You know him," Kirishima grunted before putting down Souichi, "ran off to help All Might." His expression changed when he saw Juroku's enormous stature, almost as big as their six-armed classmate. "Whoa, did you guys take down the big guy?!"

Juroku shook his head. "Uraraka and Asui were the ones to defeat me."

"Seriously?! You guys are so manly!"

Tsuyu cocked her head to the side. "We're not men though, ribbit." Although she knew what he meant.

They did a quick head count to figure out their current situation, deciding to call their location home base. Uraraka and Satou required immediate medical attention. Shouji and Tsuyu were mostly okay but not in the best shape. Tokoyami pretended that he was better than he actually was while Kirishima seemed to be generally unscathed though not exactly proud of it.

"I'll see if I can break down the door," said Kirishima.

Tokoyami nodded before following along. "Let me help."

"Shouji-kun and I will watch over everyone, ribbit," said Tsuyu.

Across the dome, over at the ruined set, Jirou was leaning against Kaminari for support because she would fall over otherwise. Ojiro carried Souji tucked in his tail but before they could move, they saw Iida and Aoyama coming from the other side of the stalagmite wall. The pair was relieved to see that their friends were alive and well and vice-versa.

Iida was freaking out when he saw Jirou, asking if she was okay. Aoyama, not having the strength to hold onto Gosun on his own, especially with the weight of the armor, dropped him. Since the heroes were a little preoccupied, they didn't really notice the fallen knight slowly rise up, holding out a hand, reaching for Jirou's back, intending to ask for support. He was abruptly knocked out of the way by a horse charging into the scene.

"Koda?" Jirou blinked.

Kaminari let the girl slip off his shoulders, leaning into Ojiro's side. "That bastard, trying to attack while we're not looking!"

"Jirou-san, are you okay?" Koda asked.

After Kaminari knocked out Gosun with electrocution, he went back to check on Jirou as well. Both he and Koda tried to talk over one another, wanting to ascertain whether or not she was touched by the enemy. The others watched from the background as this went on for a while before Jirou assured them loudly that she was fine.

Iida adjusted his glasses. "What was that about?"

"It's l'amour," Aoyama sparkled.

After hearing their flashy classmate's voice, Koda remembered why he had rushed all the way there. "Oh right, Aoyama-san, did you bring a meal on you?"

Somehow, Aoyama produced a silver platter from seemingly out of thin air, balanced on the palm of his hand. The delectable aroma of steak and mashed potatoes wafted out from underneath the lid, causing their stomachs to growl. He always packed his own food under the claim that he didn't like the food that Satou served.

"Oui, but why do you ask?"

-X-

Even going at five percent, Midoriya moved at an incredible speed. But the panda he was pursuing was not one born in nature. It didn't even seem like Kantoku was running at all but gliding through the air, feet just barely touching the ground. But the pervasive thought that All Might could be killed by this bipedal beast made Midoriya raise All for One all the way to ten percent to catch up.

"Stop right there!" Midoriya shouted.

The freckled hero skidded to a stop directly in front of Kantoku, cutting him off from escape. He then tried to land a kick on the enemy's head. But like Kantoku's body was made out of putty, he bent out of shape without getting hit. As soon as he straightened up, he headbutted the human square in the face, knocking him back.

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Kantoku smirked. "My script calls for my victory today!"

Midoriya pinched his nostrils shut, blood leaking down his bottom lip. "He's fast…"

Without his hero costume, Midoriya didn't have his iron armor soles. That meant even Shoot Style would be risky as he wouldn't have any means of defending against the recoil from his attacks. At the same time, using his arms was an issue as well. The words of the doctor telling him that if he damaged them again, then he would never be able to use them again, returned full force.

Kantoku noticed that Midoriya was incredibly still. "What's wrong? Realized the futility of your efforts?"

"I have to lower All for One for now," Midoriya decided. "Five percent should be plenty for now."

The young hero shot around like a bullet, going one way and the other, trying to confuse Kantoku with his rapid movements. Every time he got close, he'd throw a heavy punch or kick. But the anthro bear twisted his malleable body in unnatural ways, easily dodging the swift attacks and laughing boisterously as he always did.

Kantoku flexed his hand, long claws popping out from his fingertips. They looked strong and sharp enough tear right through iron. Midoriya almost got slashed when he rushed in too fast but he kicked off the ground at the last second, leaping high into the air to avoid getting cut.

"It's like he can see me from an aerial view," Midoriya remarked.

The student landed on his hands and knees. Now that he thought about it, this guy wasn't supposed to be real. Someone was controlling him.

Kantoku opened his maw, saliva dripping from his teeth, fangs extending and glinting in the light. "I wonder how you taste."

"The real enemy must be watching me from somewhere else," Midoriya muttered, looking around.

"Hey, focus on me-doriya!" the panda shouted before bursting into laughter.

Midoriya's eyes twitched. "I guess his personality was the same…"

Kantoku shot forward in the strange way that he moved. Midoriya ducked underneath the claw swipe and covered his chest from the knee that impacted him.

He was relatively unharmed as he flipped through the air, landing on his feet and kicking off, shooting back at an incredible speed. But as he got closer, he saw the panda open his jaw wider. If it were a normal person, then they would have to unhinge it but on this fake, it was like his jaw was grotesquely hanging off his face. If the boy continued at his current trajectory, he'd be eaten alive.

Midoriya threw a punch downwards the way Bakugou would aim an explosion to redirect his pathway. This pushed the green-haired teenager upwards and over the panda. Upon landing, without wasting a second, he tried to do a roundhouse kick on Kantoku.

The panda suddenly split into two parts, torso and legs. Midoriya's eyes widened as he missed his attack by going through Kantoku.

"What the heck?!" Midoriya exclaimed.

Kantoku spun around and tried to claw into his opponent's face but Midoriya jumped backwards. He was only barely able to get out of the way, getting nicked across the chest. It wasn't a deep wound but three dark red lines showed through the parallel tears in his shirt.

"Just give up!" Kantoku cackled. "You can't win!"

"I can't lose either," Midoriya huffed.

In order to get victory though, Midoriya would first have to figure out where the camera were which he was certain there would be. But while it was obvious for him to be watched from above, the ceiling was so high that it was hard to see anything other than the hanging lights. There was no way that All for One at only five percent would get him up there either.

Kantoku rushed forward once more, biting and hacking away in an attempt to rip the boy to shreds. But Midoriya was able to play keepaway effectively by jumping from one place to another. He could cover large distances in a second with ease. Although, as impressive as that was, it wouldn't matter much if he couldn't hit—.

"Midoriya!"

"DEKU!"

The young hero came to a halt, immediately recognizing those voices. An idea instantly formulated in his head as he called out to his oncoming classmates. One sliding on a trail of ice and the other using explosions to propel himself through the air. "Todoroki, Kacchan, make a wide-range explosion with your Quirks!"

"Right!" Todoroki called in response, creating flames in his left hand.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Bakugou snapped, gripping his wrist and pointing his palm forward.

When their individual attacks connected, a destructive cloud of intense heat and ashy smoke erupted. Todoroki and Bakugou covered their faces to keep from inhaling the contaminated air but they saw Kantoku leaping sky high vertically. At the very last second, their target had dodged their attack. But simultaneously, Midoriya used the explosion to help boost his jump though it did burn him a little.

"The smoke obscures the cameras," Midoriya said to himself. "And at this height… there!"

The shine of a camera lens was pointed at the ground. Midoriya then continued on his trajectory until he slammed a punch into Kantoku's stomach, sending him off towards the machine. The collision broke the electronic and without visuals for the puppeteer, Kantoku dissolved into a golden mist, vanishing from sight.

"Damn it, Deku!" Bakugou shouted. "You used us!"

"At least he beat him," Todoroki sighed in relief.

Midoriya would've had a rough landing had Todoroki not created a crude slide of ice to slow the boy's descent. Once he was safely on the ground, they convened to discuss what had happened as they head for the control room. When Midoriya saw his friends up close, he saw their injuries and blood.

"Are you guys okay?" he gasped. "You're both hurt!"

"Tch, nothing I can't handle," Bakugou scoffed.

"The blood's fake," said Todoroki. "The rest of me is a little numb but okay."

Once the door came into view, they saw three figures blocking their way. As they got closer, their forms became increasingly familiar to them. But when they realized how they knew them, the shock made their bodies seize up.

"It can't be…," said Midoriya.

-X-

All Might cheered uproariously when the last of the battles came to an end. Eigaku slammed his hands down on the control panel and swore loudly at a screen that was replaced with the image of static. Aizawa could infer from these reactions that this meant all of the kids were safe and victorious in each of their battles. Now the all they needed was for someone to rescue them.

Eigaku stared down at first, hands in his hair and nails digging into his scalp. Dandruff fell from atop as he scratched, slowly snowing onto the counter until it was nearly completely covered. With a curt and aggravated sigh, they blew away, returning back to the glossy wood it was before as he looked up at the screens.

"You should use better shampoo," All Might commented before sniffing the air. "And bathe in general."

Eigaku burst into a fit of laughter. "Salt in the wounds is it? All my allies lost so now you're going to make fun of my hygiene!"

"That's not—look, I've just never been in a hostage situation where I'm the hostage," said All Might.

The expelled student started scratching at his arms which were all dry and flaky and turned red raw. Since a year ago, he had grown out his facial hair so that he looked more like a caveman than a bum. Like a living caricature of a man lost at sea, found months later. Like a homeless man living under a bridge without any razors.

"It's over for you, Eigaku," said Aizawa. "It's like I said, those kids are far stronger than your class."

The teenager laughed again, throwing his head back and stomping his feet. "Sensei, do you really think I would let this be the end of the line? I was the top of the class even if it was for only one day. As if I'd trust them over my own capabilities."

Aizawa frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"How many imagined beings can I create at once?" asked Eigaku.

"Your file… said two," Aizawa replied. "Don't tell me you've increased that number…"

"Of course I have!" Eigaku cackled. "My control over my Quirk has increased several times over since we last met, sensei!" He typed in a few commands and the screens all changes so that there was only one place the cameras were pointed at. "So long as I have visuals, I can control them all." Slowly, gold mist left his ears and traveled out from under the doorframe. On screen, new figures appeared.

All Might's eyes widened in horror. "It can't be!"

In the center was a muscular man with blond hair, standing with a broad smile, fists on his hips, and feet apart, the former number one hero, All Might. To the right was a hero of a similar body type but with flames bursting out from his face and boots, the current number one hero, Endeavor. And to the left was a hero dressed in denim from head to toe with swooping hair and an elegant aura, the number four hero, Best Jeanist.

These three were the top alumni of U.A.

"No matter how strong young Midoriya and the others are," All Might muttered, "they don't stand a chance against them."

Aizawa wasn't sure he could agree. "Those fakes aren't as strong as the real things. Besides… you should believe in your students more." He knew that the ones standing before the fakes were Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, and Todoroki Shoto. "Especially those three. If anyone can win, it's them."

"Who would've thought that the pro hero Eraserhead could show this much faith!" Eigaku laughed. He didn't look away from the screens but he might as well have been staring the teacher directly in the face. "You didn't give a flying fuck about any of us! Do you know what we even went through after you expelled us?!"

Even though he had such a wide smile, tears were rolling down and sinking into his shaggy beard. What was the cause for such an expression?

-X-

Eigaku Geki and Kantoku Jou set up their cardboard castle in the backyard. They set up their video camera which they received for Christmas on a tripod and pressed film. Neither could act. At five years old, they could barely remember their lines and every time they performed, they would dissolved into laughter. Every now and then, Kantoku would tell a bad pun and they'd both throw their heads back in response.

At night, after shooting one of their movies, they would lie in the grass and stare up at the night sky. A tent would be right beside them, waiting for them to turn in for rest. They'd listen to the crickets and watch the stars, connecting the dots until they formed pretty pictures of constellations they didn't know the names of.

Nearby, Eigaku's father would set up a sheet to project the movie onto. Inside, his mother would be making snacks.

"This is the part where I beat up the bad guys!" said Kantoku.

"And this is the part where I rescue the princess!" added Eigaku.

Even though the films contained nonsensical scripts with terrible acting, his parents always gave them a standing ovation. Eigaku always smiled when they did.

His parents were also thrilled that the kids seemed to enjoy doing this all the time. They had been worried because Eigaku was told that he was Quirkless which resulted in bullying from his classmates and sometimes isolation. But then Kantoku appeared in his life and he was never alone again after that.

One day, they invited Kantoku to stay for dinner. But to their shock, when he tried to eat, the food got chewed up but couldn't be swallowed so they fell down onto the floor in a splattered mess. Eigaku didn't understand why it happened and due to his confusion, Kantoku went limp in the seat, like he just… died. In a way, he had.

"Interesting," the doctor had said. "It would appear that this… Kantoku, was an imaginary friend come to life."

"But how is that possible?"

"Perhaps… that is Geki-kun's Quirk."

On any other day at any other time before then, Eigaku would've been ecstatic to hear that he was just like everyone else in class. He would've been celebrating the fact that he had a Quirk. But why did it have to be at the cost of his best friend?

"Jou-chan is real though," Eigaku insisted, tears rolling down his cheeks. He tugged on the hems of his parents' shirts. "You saw him! Jou-chan's real!"

How were they supposed to respond? "Geki…"

For about a week, the teasing stopped at school. Everyone wanted to see this rare and powerful Quirk for themselves but he refused to show them anything. So then they started up by saying he was lying about it. But they stopped when strange things happened to them like metal tubs falling from above and hitting their heads. Of course, it was Eigaku who got punished for violent behavior.

At home, Eigaku almost never left his room. He just watched all the films he ever made in an infinite loop on the computer, trying to figure out just what about Kantoku was fake. The panda child always knew the right thing to say, always had a joke on hand, and he had showed up when Eigaku needed a friend the most. When he was lonely and crying and wanted to watch a movie together with someone other than his family.

"Jou-chan," the Eigaku on screen said, "we're going to be friends forever, right?"

Kantoku nodded. "Of course, Geki! Friends forever!"

They had promised one another, sealing it by hooking their pinkies together. The real Eigaku held up his hand, his little finger twitching, remembering that the fur on his best friend hadn't felt real. It never felt real. But it never really bothered him because he genuinely believe Kantoku was real. Now he understood the truth.

"You're a liar Jou-chan," Eigaku muttered.

Eventually, Eigaku grew older and left his imaginary friend in the past. Or at least, he finally figured he should try to live a normal life. It happened one day when their teacher asked the class what each of them wanted to be when they grew up. More than half the class shouted out one word, "Hero!"

When he believed he was Quirkless, Eigaku would've said, "I don't know."

The enthusiasm of his peers and the heroes he'd seen on screen had influenced him though. So he went home that day and started practicing using his Quirk. The surprised expressions on his parents' faces were branded into his memory when they saw All Might standing in their kitchen one day.

"I'm going to be like him," Eigaku had said pointing up at the smiling figure.

"You'll definitely be the number one hero with your Quirk!" his father laughed.

"We'll support you all the way, Geki," his mother smiled.

Eigaku packed his cameras, films, microphones, and tripod into cardboard boxes, hiding them away in a corner of the hallway closet. They soon became replaced with hero magazines and study material so that he could research as much as possible for his future. Most days, he was out training in the backyard, imagining various objects and making them more complex as time went on.

"Number one hero," Eigaku decided. "That is my goal."

For the following few years, things were going fine. Eigaku never quite forgot about his childhood best friend and the films they did. So every Friday night, he and his parents would go watch a movie together. One evening, as they were driving back home and talking about the adventure movie they watched, a man a few blocks away stumbled out of a bar and into his car.

The crash happened about ten minutes later.

The only reason Eigaku survived was because in a panic, he imagined an enveloping cushion for himself. It was like a mattress that closed around him, encasing him in a cylinder. It didn't feel as soft as it should be but he lived because of it.

"I'm sorry."

Those words played over and over again in Eigaku's ears. Each one was tinged with sadness, heavy words wrapped in a croaky whisper.

They put their hands on his shoulders, gave him squeezes like that could replace the embrace of a mother or father. They cried and sobbed like the couple meant more to them than their son. They gave speeches like it would make him feel better if he knew how important they were to others. It made his ribcage close around his heart and lungs, trying to cut off the life he hung onto by chance.

"I could've saved them," Eigaku whimpered. "I was supposed to become a hero."

He didn't want to move in with his aunt. He fled from the house and hid away at his previous home, the furniture covered in white sheets like the entire structure was now inhabited by ghosts. He tore the sheets off everything and sat on a dusty table, waiting for something to happen. For his parents to come through the door with big smiles and waiting arms and groceries for dinner that night.

"Geki-kun?" his aunt called from the entrance.

"In here," Eigaku replied.

Her footsteps got closer as she spoke. "I know this is a big change but you—." A blood-curdling scream cut her off, filling the empty space.

Standing in the kitchen, in front of the stove was the late Mrs. Eigaku trying to cook on a machine that no longer got gas. Sitting across the table from the child was the deceased Mr. Eigaku in a pristine suit and a newspaper and a cup of fake coffee. Their son had a big smile as he turned to his aunt, eyes red and puffy.

"See Auntie?" he said. "They came back from the movies."

Because Eigaku looked away from his imagined humans, they went limp like marionettes without their controllers. His aunt fell to her knees in abject horror at the sight of her sister and brother-in-law looking like corpses that stood on their own. She fled the scene without her nephew. She couldn't stay there for a second longer.

From that point on, Eigaku lived on his own. He found a spot under a bridge beside a river with another homeless man as his neighbor. It was also close to school, a laundromat, and a convenience store. All he had to do was keep a part-time job and sell off his prized possessions from the hallway closet to survive. His aunt also sent him money from time to time.

Once he got into U.A., his life would turn around, he was sure. If only that had been the case.

In order to cope with the expulsion, Eigaku did what he always did but more frequently. He talked to the faces of Kantoku and his parents in the river. He snuck into movie theaters instead of buying tickets, sometimes getting kicked out, sometimes able to watch the whole film. He stood outside shops selling television sets to watch the news.

All Might in Kamino.

How can a victory look so much like a loss?

All Might in Kamino. He looked like a shadow or hollow shell of his former self even as the people around him cheered.

The symbol of hope had been extinguished, deflated to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. It was then that Eigaku also lost the remainder of his hope. It was impossible for him to ever turn his life around. So why not take off running down the path he was already on? That path that had been paved by people like Stain and All for One.

In his mind, All Might was pointing to him. He was next.


	10. Fighting Faux Foes

Even hardcore villains would be quaking in their boots if they were met with the combined forces of All Might, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist. If it weren't for the fact that they were obviously fakes, the trio of U.A. students would most certainly be hesitating in the fight. Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki lowered their bodies, prepared to lunge forward or out of the way if the enemies made any sudden movements.

"I don't like it," said Bakugou, "but I'll leave All Might to you, Deku. I want to get back at Best Jeanist even if he is a phony."

"Eh?"

Todoroki nodded in agreement. "If anyone can beat an impostor All Might, it would be you."

"Eh?"

Midoriya was surprised by how easily the other two were able to settle on the matchups. It did make sense. Out of the three of them, Midoriya and Bakugou had the experience of taking on the former number one hero. But Midoriya also had vast wells of knowledge on the skills and capabilities of this particular opponent.

"Texas Smash!"

Todoroki quickly created an ice wall to back the trio like he had done when facing Midoriya at the sports festival. Bakugou automatically started swearing up a storm about how he didn't need the help. At the same time, Midoriya analyzed just how strong the wind pressure was, noting how much weaker it was compared to the time he was hit while captured by the sludge villain.

Bakugou took off not long after the wind stopped. Setting off explosions from his palms, he rocketed towards Best Jeanist.

"Die! Armor Piercing Shot!"

By narrowing the area of impact, Bakugou set off a laser-like explosion that could break through the toughest of metals. The attack would've connected but Best Jeanist undid the fabric around his right sleeve, raising up his arm, and lifted up off the ground. It was like he had just used a grappling hook in order to avoid destruction.

"You're fast but you're also very sloppy," Jeanist remarked.

Bakugou propelled himself upward, ignoring the insult. Spinning through the air, the young hero planned on slamming a downward spin kick on the faux pro. But Jeanist unleashed another wave of threads that completely restrained the teenager, like he was a carcass hanging in a meat freezer.

"Damn it, you fucker!" Bakugou snapped. "Don't think you can get away with this!"

Jeanist produced a comb from out of thin air. "Your hair is even sloppier."

A smirk appeared on Bakugou's face. It was annoying that this fake was acting like the real deal but at the same time, it made it easier. Even if there was an obvious power difference, Bakugou could easily pretend that this was the actual Best Jeanist.

"Defeating number four," said Bakugou, "will bring me that much closer to the top."

With a few blasts, Bakugou swung forward like a pendulum. Jeanist didn't even have the time to dodge as his face connected with Bakugou's spiky head. The pro hero was knocked backwards though actual damage seemed to be nonexistent. With a few more blasts, Bakugou was able to tear the threads near his hands, breaking out of his suffocating prison.

"Tch, you don't even deserve a top one hundred spot," Jeanist muttered.

Bakugou landed on the ground with a thud. "I'll make you eat those words, you bastard!"

Once more, Bakugou set off another explosion with a much wider range to encompass any place that Jeanist could run off to. The only area of escape was up which, as expected, the fraud did. But this time, instead of physically giving chase, Bakugou switched hands and set off a blast. In the ensuing smoke, everything was obscured even to the person blowing things up.

"Still so sloppy."

Threads shot out from the smoke cloud, coming at Bakugou like needles. But rather than striking him head-on, they looped around the boy, targeting him from every direction. Most of them were aimed at his arms and hands since that's the only place Bakugou could use his Quirk.

"They've done their research," Bakugou muttered. "On us and the pro heroes."

The one creating the fakes must be a hero otaku like Midoriya. Of that, the U.A. student was certain.

Bakugou was aware of the lack of defensive maneuvers that his Quirk provided. To him, the best offense was the best defense. Just destroy whatever attack was coming towards him like he'd done when facing Uraraka. But in this case, the most he could do was redirect the threads that were leading the pack. The rest would mostly likely change directions, finding a new path to strike at the teenager.

So the best course of action was to dodge.

Bakugou took off, lifting off the ground like an actual rocket ship after ignition. The threads chased after him but he warded them off by simultaneously propelling himself through the air and blasting at the strings. Before long, he had made it close to the ceiling before doing a U-turn and nose-diving, spiralling straight towards Jeanist.

"Howitzer Impact!"

By spinning around, he created a tornado which generated oxygen. Like this, he was able to amplify the strength of the blast, a destructive cloud that was similar to the power to an actual missile. But just as the explosion set off, he found himself suspended just moments before hitting the ground.

"It's like I said," Jeanist chuckled, hovering above the ground, arms crossed in an X with the fabric from his sleeves missing, "you're sloppy."

Bakugou was like an unsuspecting insect caught in an intricate spider web. His limbs were splayed out in all directions, threads tightening around his muscles to prevent him from struggling. In an instant, they unraveled and looped around his throat.

There was no air getting into his lungs as Bakugou flailed about, hands flying to his neck. "You… fucker!"

Best Jeanist landed on the ground, a single strand of thread coming from one arm, up to the ceiling, and down around his victim. With a yank, Bakugou shot upwards a few meters. It felt like his head would be brutally torn right off his body. But as he tried to soften the pain using his Quirk, he found that his hands had been wiped clean of sweat, the threads absorbing it and then closing around them.

"You look a little pale," Jeanist remarked.

"Can't… breathe… damn it…," Bakugou grunted.

The world was going dark, the kicking of his legs were starting to slow down. His arms fell uselessly to his side.

"Hmph," Jeanist scoffed. "It's over for—."

"Bakugou!"

Racing across the field was Kirishima, his entire body in a hardened state. The redhead leapt the rest of the way, not going after Jeanist exactly but the thread directly above his head. The fake hero tried to send more threads but they were cut the instant they hit the boy's body. With a swing of his arm, the string was cleanly cut and Bakugou fell back down to earth.

"Curse you!" Best Jeanist snapped before slamming a front kick into Kirishima's stomach.

Bakugou used his explosions to soften his landing. His savior ungracefully hit the dirt with the back of his head and tumbled all the way to his feet.

"Shitty Hair," Bakugou coughed, trying to even his breathing. "Damn it, do you always have to have this kind of timing?"

Kirishima smirked, giving the other boy a thumbs up. "Think of it as paying back my dues for having you do most of the fighting before."

"Fine," Bakugou chuckled. "Just this once… I'll share the stage."

The students stood up, wiping at their chins before bumping fists. They had on similar smiles as they stared down their opponent. Best Jeanist didn't seem to falter as he undid the stitching of his entire top half, sending a massive wave of threads at the pair.

"Shitty Hair!" Bakugou snapped.

"I know!" Kirishima replied before hardening his entire body to its maximum. From head to toe, his skin became sharp and jagged. Spikier hair, sharper teeth, and an appearance of a mighty, raging beast. This was the ultimate move he had been cultivating for weeks. "Red Riot Unbreakable!"

Without having to communicate, the plan was clear.

Kirishima dashed forward with Bakugou following right behind. The threads tried to go around the frontman but Bakugou used his explosions to push himself under Kirishima from between the legs, effectively switching places. In the meantime, Kirishima hacked away at the threads with his arms, making sure none of them touched his friend.

"His cooperativeness shouldn't be so high," Best Jeanist gasped.

Before long, the two students had covered the distance. As Jeanist unraveled the threads around his legs, Bakugou shot upwards, flipping over to the pro hero's backside. Then with an explosion-powered punch to the back, he sent the fake into Kirishima's waiting fist.

"Red Gauntlet!"

The Best Jeanist fake was beheaded and poofed into a ton of gold mist. The pair smirked widely as they determined this to be a victory. But then the mist began to gather in one spot again, a little bit away from the two, solidifying into the form of Best Jeanist once more.

"What the—?!" Kirishima gasped.

"Tch," Bakugou scoffed. "Guess we can't beat him unless the one with the Quirk is taken down."

Kirishima had returned to normal at that point. He punched his open palm. "Then we'll just have to keep going."

Best Jeanist didn't have to look to know that there were doves flying around in the rafters, searching for cameras. The rest of class A was clearly looking for them. That must mean that one other student, Yaoyorozu most likely, had told them about the nature of the Imagination Quirk, or her theory at least which was enough to go on.

"Do you really think your allies can destroy visuals before I defeat you?" Jeanist asked.

Bakugou cracked his knuckles. "My class isn't so dumb to be outsmarted by a loser like you."

"I'll make you eat those words," Jeanist snarled.

"He's starting to break character," Bakugou noticed. "Guess that means that nerd and that half and half bastard are doing well too."

Not long after splitting up, Todoroki created an ice wall when his fake father shot a volley of flames at him. But it was strange, the blaze didn't feel hot at all although when they licked at the crystals, they shattered. It was like they had a physicality to them. When they touched Todoroki, they scraped against his skin, drawing blood.

"This is… new," Todoroki muttered, examining his arms.

Endeavor ran forward, shouting all the way there. "Shoto! You'll never surpass me like that!"

The father and son, sort of, were locked into combat. Unfortunately, hand-to-hand was not exactly Todoroki's specialty though he trained in it. Like Aizawa once deduced, he relied on his Quirk too much. But even though Endeavor wasn't performing any fancy or outlandish maneuvers like Kantoku, he was still incredibly skilled. Todoroki recognized many of the moves from interning under his father.

"Whoever's controlling them likes to keep them in character," Todoroki noted.

The way Endeavor shouted, it was like he was scolding his son. "You're paying attention to the wrong things!"

Todoroki felt a knee make heavy contact with his stomach. It was like the organs in that area had decided to throw themselves towards his back as he was launched across the field. It was obvious that since the flames didn't actually burn that this fake was going to depend on direct physical action in order to do heavy damage.

The boy clutched at his abdomen, making sure nothing had fallen out. Even though he knew firsthand that Houseki's punches were weaker than Midoriya, the fact remained that she was tough. He was only putting on a strong face in front of the others when asked but the truth was things were hurting.

"I won't lose," he huffed. "Not to you."

The pair launched at each other with a new wall of flames. It seemed that while it didn't feel like fire, Endeavor's Quirk still behaved like the element. As they clashed into each other, a massive partition erupted in between the combatants, hiding them away. Just a second after they vanished, Endeavor had dove through, prepared to throw a punch.

"You're too weak, Shoto!"

Todoroki grinded his right foot into the dirt. "That's what you think."

The floor froze starting from the sole of his shoe, running up and rushing upwards. It was like a glacier that had been hiding underneath the surface of the waves had just made an appearance as it raised the enemy sky high. The way the ice ran over the fake hero's body, it made sure to lock his limbs to his side, rendering him completely unable to move.

"You're too naive," Endeavor laughed. "Do you really think this will stop me?"

Todoroki knew that. So his right side burst into flames. "Then I'll defeat you now!"

They created another inferno, one red and orange, the other blue and white. The tower of ice shattered and the glow from their flames made it glitter brilliantly as though they were trapped inside of a disco ball. Everything was so bright and flashy that it was difficult to see but Endeavor didn't need to use his own eyes.

"Those flames are weak, Shoto!" Endeavor bellowed, landing with a thud. "Allow me to teach you!"

Todoroki was hit with another volley of flames. Because of the physicality, he was actually pushed backwards. He rolled until he smashed into a boulder, his head snapping back and causing white spots to flash before his eyes due to the whiplash.

"Even though he's a fake," Todoroki muttered, "I can't beat him?"

The boy was trying to channel the rage he had felt towards the hero for all these years. But while the contempt was there, the stronger emotion was indifference. It was impossible to forgive that man for his sins but the fact was that Todoroki couldn't hold a grudge against him forever either. It would only anchor his own capabilities.

So he was hesitating.

"Let's finish this, Shoto!" Endeavor roared.

Another blaze expanded out from the hero's palm, enveloping the entire battlefield. Todoroki covered his face from what he knew was coming. But then a heavy clang could be heard directly in front of him and the flames never touched him.

"Todoroki-kun," a familiar voice called out, "are you okay?"

Yaoyorozu stood before him, kneeling down on one knee, arms raised to either side to support a giant shield that she had created. It had to tear through her clothes but she was already in the middle of creating a new costume at the same time. Aoyama's lunch wasn't a lot but it was enough to hold her over for now.

"What are you doing here?" Todoroki asked, eyes wide. "You were already malnourished, you should get out of here!"

"I can still fight," Yaoyorozu argued.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, making her face him. "I don't want you to get hurt. So don't be so stubborn and—."

"I'm," Yaoyorozu interrupted, "I'm just like you!" She put a hand to her chest, leaning forward, nearly butting heads with him. "Just like you, Todoroki-kun, I got into U.A. through recommendations! We had the same start line, yet you continued to surpass me. I don't want to be chasing after your back… I want to stand on equal ground… and then work to surpass you!"

"Yaoyorozu-san…"

"Besides… I care too much about you to let you fight a losing battle."

Todoroki realized that this wasn't the same Yaoyorozu from the sports festival either. Everyone had done some growing up since then. This was the confidence that she had gained. Besides, it was rather hypocritical to reprimand her for hiding her pain when he was doing the exact same thing.

"Surpass me, huh," Todoroki chuckled, "I won't make it easy for you."

"I don't expect you too," Yaoyorozu replied with a smile.

The pair were so engrossed in their conversation that they almost didn't notice that the blaze had long stopped going over their heads. Their enemy suddenly shot in from the side, swinging out a leg with the intent of taking off their skulls. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu jumped backwards narrowly avoiding getting hit but they hadn't expected flames to come slicing through the air, repelling them further.

Todoroki glanced over at his comrade, worried that she might've taken major damage. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yaoyorozu replied. "What about you?"

"Nothing serious."

Endeavor was rushing forward, blasting pillars of flames from his palms, trying to roast them alive. In order to defend themselves, they stayed on the move. On occasion, an ice wall would be erected in their wake though it didn't do much in terms of protecting them.

Yaoyorozu knew that there was bad blood between the Todoroki men. Even so, her classmate shouldn't have to go through cutting down his own parent, even if he was a fake. She deducted that that was the reason why he was being so uncharacteristically indecisive. However, knowing Todoroki, she was certain that he had figured it out for himself as well.

"Yaoyorozu-san, create a fire retardant cloak!" said Todoroki.

She knew him well enough to know that he was an unparalleled strategist. But she prided herself in her intelligence above all else. "Already on it!"

The flames didn't burn but they had other properties that were similar. So it was safe to assume that a cloth that could protect one's self from heat would work just fine in this particular case as well. As soon as Yaoyorozu had dressed herself in her own creation, she skidded to a stop and pivoted around to face the enemy, pulling out the graphene sword she had brought along with her.

"Giant Ice Wall!"

Yaoyorozu also made heated soles that wouldn't stick to ice. The glacier that erupted from under her feet catapulted her through the air. Endeavor attempted to destroy her in an intense inferno but she was safe thanks to the cloak. Before the faux hero could do anything to prevent her from getting closer, a blade cleaved right him in two, right across the waist, depleting him into golden mist.

"Shoto," Endeavor snarled. "You're getting on my nerves."

Yaoyorozu landed on the other side and got to work with creating a cannon. The golden mist was already reforming into their defeated enemy. Todoroki tried to stall for time by alternating between ice and fire to keep it dispersed.

"Good," Todoroki replied coolly. "You can think of it as payback for what you did to my mother. But at this moment… this is for my teachers."

"As heroes," said Yaoyorozu, "we have a job to protect people."

"So we won't let you defeat us!"

Midoriya knew that the others were battling hard judging from the pyrotechnics. They were incredibly distracting but nothing could derail the boy's focus from All Might. It felt like a lifetime ago since he'd least seen the muscled form. The number one hero with an unwavering smile on every television screen and magazine cover. This was the All Might that Midoriya adored and admired and aspired to be like.

Until over a year ago when Midoriya met the true form of All Might. That one became just as much of a hero as the one everyone else saw everyday.

" _You're still imitating me."_

The first day back in class after the events in Kamino, those were the words that All Might spoke. All the memories from the past summer of rescuing Kouta, trying to save Bakugou and Tokoyami, and telling his mother that it was okay if he didn't go to U.A. came flying back. Midoriya could never be the next All Might despite inheriting his Quirk. He was going to become the first Deku.

" _I like the name 'Deku' for you! It gives a sort of 'never give up' vibe, you know?"_

At the age of three, Midoriya Izuku discovered how unfair the world was. The cruelties of a society that praises those that are strong. Someone born without a Quirk couldn't possible measure up to those standards. The Deku that meant he couldn't do anything changed, however, after meeting so many people that laughed at adversity and stood tall against meanness. Midoriya got to stood next to them.

"What's wrong, young Midoriya?" the All Might fake laughed. "Having trouble facing your hero?"

The powers of One for All ran through Midoriya's veins. The controller of this image knew nothing about that. So this wasn't real.

"My hero… isn't you," Midoriya answered.

A shadow ran across the muscular man's face. "Is that so?"

The two of them kicked off the ground, flying towards each other at a breakneck speed. It was clear that All Might's abilities trumped the teenager, possessing speed and power in spades even if they weren't anywhere close to the real thing. But unlike the one with the Imagination Quirk, Midoriya's focus wasn't split in multiple places at once.

"Carolina Smash!"

A double-handed cross-chop across the chest. So in order to dodge, Midoriya would have to slam the brakes and kick off once more, leaping over the head of the phony. Immediately after landing, he rushed back, trying to land a straight kick at the small of the man's back.

Just like the boy, the phony could also use his powerful legs to rocket through the air. He propelled himself straight up into the sky. Then, while he was up there, he reeled back an arm, prepared to try another attack. "Detroit Smash!"

Midoriya could remember the climate-changing effect as clear as day. It was a memory emblazoned into memory because he got to witness it firsthand. The sludge villain being forced to let go of his hostage and the sudden change in pressure resulting in rain that put out the fires in the entire shopping district.

"Gotta dodge!" Midoriya told himself as he started running.

The wind current that hit the floor nearly caused the teenager to stumble and fall flat on his face. But he managed to keep his balance.

"I'm starting to see why the other two wanted me to fight All Might," Midoriya huffed.

The knowledge he had obtained from studying pro heroes was coming in handy here. All the information on All Might was stored in his journals. The extensive analyses done on the actions and moves were looked over so many times that Midoriya had memorized them all. So he was the only one who could keep up against another super fan's iteration of the hero.

The two dashed back at each other. Midoriya was forced into the defensive, blocking and parrying blows. There were hardly any openings but when there were, Midoriya attempted to swing a strong kick against All Might only to be knocked back. One solid punch to the stomach was all it took to send Midoriya flying across the field, his back hitting the dirt and dragging along before coming to a full stop.

"Young Midoriya, I thought I taught you better," All Might laughed. "You can't beat me."

Midoriya stood up, finding that his knees were buckling under his weight and his ribs were shifting around weirdly. "True… I could never hope to match up to someone of your caliber so soon. But you're not the real All Might… and I don't plan on giving up so easily."

"Then I'll have to force you into submission."

Midoriya glanced at the door behind the enemy. "I have to save the real All Might, and Aizawa-sensei too."

"You'll never get to them," said All Might, lowering his body. "United States of…!"

This was the ultimate move. Even a fake could completely obliterate their opponent using such a devastating attack. So Midoriya knew that he had to dodge but as he tried to get back up, All Might shot towards him, even faster than before.

"Smash!"

"Recipro Extend!"

Midoriya was lifted off the ground as the earth behind him was demolished, revealing the linoleum of the actual set. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the arms of Iida who was running to a safe spot behind a boulder were Uraraka was waiting for them. He was always thrilled to see his close friends but never before was he so relieved.

"Deku!" Uraraka cried out. "Are you okay? You were fighting All Might by yourself!"

"A little shaken, but I'm fine," Midoriya replied, trying his best to smile. But the attempt faded away when he got a better look at the other two. The purpling bruises on the girl and the blood from the other boy's arms. "What about you guys? Those wounds don't exactly look minor."

"My engines are too hot for me to keep going," Iida replied.

"And I had to be carried all the way here," Uraraka added.

So unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to assist in battle. They did give him more motivation to keep going and it would seem that they didn't arrive without a plan. But it would require Midoriya to continue fighting on his own for a just a bit. That would be fine by him.

"Midoriya, we're here for you," said Iida.

"So don't do something stupid," Uraraka smiled.

Midoriya nodded. "Right… I know I can count on you two."

A booming voice hit them like a physical force. "Hiding like cowards, are you? Texas…!"

Midoriya made a mad dash to the side in order to get All Might's attention. Iida did the same in the opposite direction even if he couldn't use his full speed. The most important thing was to not give away Uraraka's presence. She was the key to their whole plan.

Iida's engines had overheated so he was no longer a threat. The real issue was Midoriya so All Might focused on him. "Smash!"

Like at the beginning of their fight, Midoriya stayed evasive, acrobatically leaping from one place to the other. Slowly, he got closer to All Might while Iida tried to distract him by pitching stones at the hero's head. It didn't do much of anything since the real eyes belonged to someone from above. But of course, the point was to keep that person from scanning the area for other 1-A students.

"You'll never be able to beat me!" All Might bellowed. "I am the number one hero!"

"For the last time," Midoriya shouted, screeching to an abrupt stop and rushing forward, "you're not him!"

As Midoriya got closer, he raised his leg the way that Iida taught him too, prepared to perform a strong enough kick to do some damage. All Might reeled an arm back, prepared to counter the strike with the strength of a thousand men. Iida glanced up before jerking his head over to where their third comrade was hiding.

"Now!"

"Release!"

From above, Tokoyami and Tsuyu kicked off the ceiling, their weight returning to them. They accelerated straight down to the ground after striking each other with the help of their Quirks. Midoriya's feint was a success as he quickly changed direction to avoid All Might's punch and down came his classmates with a tongue slam and a shadowy claw.

"All the cameras we could find have been destroyed, ribbit!" Tsuyu reported.

"The others have broken through the door and are calling the school and police as we speak," Tokoyami added.

All Might returned not long after. They couldn't find the last camera that was focused on this specific spot but they were joined by four other heroes soon after. In front stood Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka. From the back were Tokoyami and Tsuyu. To the left stood Bakugou and Kirishima while to the right were Todoroki and Yaoyorozu. Without visuals, Endeavor and Best Jeanist were forced to reappear beside the former number one.

"If you step out of range you'll vanish," Todoroki told their watcher.

Yaoyorozu raised a finger. "Your creator can't see beyond one step in front of each of us."

"So you fuckers are toast," Bakugou smirked.

"You shouldn't have underestimated us," Kirishima grinned.

"We are class 1-A of U.A.!"


	11. Happily Ever After

Eigaku's head was pounding to the point where it felt like his brain was trying to escape his skull. He was barely able to keep his head up to watch as one by one, the screens played back static. There was only one left but he couldn't make any of his creations move too far or else they would disappear out of frame and from existence. Enraged tears began pooling up in his eyes as he let out a frustrated scream, slamming his hands on the panel in front of him over and over again.

"I told you," said Aizawa, "you can't beat those kids."

"Shut up!" Eigaku yelled, his voice scratchy. "What do _you_ know?!"

Aizawa could hear them no matter how quietly they moved. The slight footsteps in the hallway, just beyond the wall that his back was pressed up against. "I know that those kids have something that your class didn't. And that's why I didn't expel any of them."

All Might wondered what the point was to agitating their captor. They were still tied up and at his mercy.

Eigaku seemed to remember that fact as well. So he stood and grabbed the parasol, the same support item that Hebime had used. By splitting it into two pieces, the canopy and the handle, he unsheathed a sword and turned around. His breathing was heavy, eyes bloodshot, and it was clear that he was aiming to slit throats as he made slow purposeful steps towards his teacher.

"Shut up!" he screamed.

All Might instinctively lunged forward to protect him. "Aizawa!"

The door suddenly swung open, hitting the wall with a slam as three U.A. students rushed in. Eigaku reacted by directing the canopy at them in an attempt to blind them in a bright flash. But the person at the front quickly made a veil of acid, dense enough to block the light. From the sides, her companions jumped out with their Quirks at the ready.

All Might couldn't believe his eyes. Ashido, Sero, and Mineta had made it all the way to the control room!

"You shouldn't have underestimated class A!" Sero called out.

"How dare you call us just extras!" Mineta snapped.

Tape dispensed from Sero's elbows at top speed, looping around the sword and yanking it out of the older boy's grip. A connected chain of sticky pop-off balls lashed out like a whip, sticking right onto the canopy and also tearing it away. The veil then vanished as Ashido slid across the floor as fast as possible.

"We fight with everything we've got!" Ashido shouted. "Plus…!"

"Ultra!"

Ashido's fist made contact with Eigaku's nose as his entire body was flung backwards. The force of the punch blasted him through the wall of screens and shattered the window that overlooked the entire set. Outside, everyone turned their heads to the sound, the imagined heroes returning to their original misty form and disappearing completely.

"You called them extras," said Aizawa, "but even extras can beat the likes of you."

Tokoyami caught the falling boy using his shadowy claws. The others collapsed onto their knees and backsides, relieved to know that the fighting was over. It was also at that point that the police showed up, checking on the students and cuffing the perpetrators of this incident. Inside the control room, the three students freed their teachers from their bindings.

"It's over," All Might sighed.

"Yeah," Aizawa nodded. "It is."

 **Name** : Eigaku Geki

 **Alter-Ego** : None

 **Quirk** : Imagination, he can will anything into existence just by imagining it although they won't feel like the real thing. They will have the same physical properties at the very least. If he uses it too much, it will result in a migraine. Any more than that and he may fall unconscious for a number of minutes or hours.

 **Reason for Revenge** : Everything

The police were asked to leave the group alone so that they could come together. After a phone call with Principal Nezu, they agreed that they should keep this as an isolated event. All Might used his influence to pull some strings and detective Tsukauchi placed a gag order so only those involved would ever know about this. U.A. had enough trouble as it was and no one was seriously injured at least. Well, nothing a quick examination from Recovery Girl couldn't fix anyway.

"Young Yaoyorozu," said All Might. "Do you want to eat at the ramen place to replenish your strength?"

The young heroine's stomach let out a growl. "I'd love to… but first, I want to make sure things are okay here."

"Of course."

Aizawa stood in front of his current and former students. They expected him to start yelling and scolding at least one of the groups, particularly those that tried to kill them. But to their surprise, he bowed to them, his long hair falling down all over his face. Even more shocking, he apologized.

"This was all my fault," said Aizawa. "Had I been less harsh, then perhaps fewer of you would've bore ill will towards me. But I hurt all of you… and I ended up getting my students involved in a revenge plot that should've only been about me."

"No," Houseki interjected. "We are… to blame as well."

Juroku glanced over at Uraraka and the others. "I think… I understand why we were expelled and not them."

Souichi nodded, remembering what Kirishima had said about Bakugou. "They all understand what U.A. is about and we… didn't."

The school's motto, always go beyond Plus Ultra. Students that showed that potential to Aizawa, were allowed to continue their education at U.A. Those that did not and showed no signs of improving soon, would be promptly expelled. The Quirk apprehension test didn't just display one's proficiency with their ability but their creativity, perseverance, and dedication towards becoming a hero.

So long as a student could prove that they had at least half of those traits, Aizawa would deem them worthy. Midoriya's dedication was never in question. But Aizawa wanted to see just how the boy could get around certain obstacles such as multiple mediocre scores weighing him down and being told that he should give up if he rendered himself unable to move. To think that the student would use only a finger with his double-edged sword of a Quirk in order to prove himself.

"These students," said Aizawa, "didn't look at heroes like All Might and said, I'll be like him." Everyone had their eyes on him as they waited for his next words. "No, they looked at the top heroes and said… I will surpass them. That… is what makes them so strong."

Class A had no idea that their sensei thought so highly of them. Some were actually tearing up.

"Besides," Aizawa continued before pivoting around, "it's not completely your fault."

The kids watched as the pro hero's hair suddenly stood up and the capture weapon around his neck came loose. It shot out like a snake, whipping up to the roof of the dome and returned, dragging down a boy with white hair to the ground. The body landed with a thud, arms bound to his side, as he cackled maniacally. The class got tense, wondering if they were going to have to fight again.

Hebime let out a gasp, recognizing him. "Nisemo Noaki."

"Most likely a pseudonym," said Aizawa. "I don't know your given name… but I have no doubt you're related to Kofuku Shuu."

The boy continued to laugh riotously. Bakugou was rolling up his sleeves, prepared to shut him up by force.

When Aizawa blinked, his Quirk stopped working. So whatever this person's Quirk was, it was no longer being erased. That was when he finally spoke. "My name Kofuku Kanji," he stated. "And I'm feeling quite scared, Eraserhead."

As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone felt their knees buckling, cold sweat pouring from their foreheads. The ones that suffered the worst from this were Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Iida, and Tokoyami who were actually unable to stand up. A vision had passed through them. The first six were thinking back to Kamino and the aura exuded by All for One. The last one couldn't help but think back to the summer training camp and losing control of Dark Shadow.

Aizawa's eyes snapped open, nullifying Kofuku's Quirk once more. "Shut it…"

Kofuku was kicking up his legs raucously, still laughing his head off. "How pathetic of you! To be shaken up by me like that!"

All Might took a step forward. "Kofuku Shuu… If I remember correctly…"

Several years ago, there was a string of unrelated murders and assaults that were seemingly unrelated since the culprits were all different people. Yet each of them reported the same thing. After twenty-four hours of the murder attempt, they couldn't remember why they would do such a thing. It wasn't long before eyewitness reports started having another connection. A certain person at each crime scene.

"Kofuku's Quirk was Suggestive Voice," said Aizawa. "And I see you have a variation of that."

So long as a person could hear it, they could be influenced. Whenever Kofuku saw two people arguing, he would discreetly pass by them and whisper, "I want to kill you." The statement had to start with "I want" and the one who heard it with the strongest emotion of anger or loathing would act upon those words. The act of the psychological power of suggestion, exponentially increased by a Quirk.

Kofuku sat up, crossing his legs and still trying to subside his laughter. "You're so smart, Eraserhead. It's true… Kofuku Shuu is my father. My Quirk is definitely similar but it's called Empathetic Voice. I premise my statements with 'I feel' or some variation thereof and it'll amplify whatever hearers are feeling. But I also get to be specific by including trigger words."

"Trigger words?" Souji muttered.

Gorisaki frowned. "But when did he…?"

Kofuku had gone around to the houses of his former classmates, disguised as a salesman. He pretended to sell a new service that would allow them to converse with popular heroes. "For example, let's say I want to speak to… Eraserhead. I'm feeling angry about something. I can just call him and…" It was a simple and almost obvious pitch yet they fell for it one by one. They each became angrier and angrier towards Aizawa.

"Wait a minute!" Houseki gasped. "You used your Quirk on us on that first day too!"

" _I'm feeling anxious."_

Aizawa nodded. "That's right. It's because of him that all of you did so poorly during the apprehension test. Furthermore…"

" _I'm feeling mad."_

"He got me annoyed at your results," the teacher said through grit teeth.

"So it was one long con?" Kaminari asked.

"You are one messed up dude," Sero remarked.

"Mm… perhaps," Kofuku giggled. "My father _did_ murder people because he thought it was fun to watch the police run in circles. I must say, there was definitely something undeniably satisfying about making all of you fight one another without even realizing I was here!"

Uraraka felt a shiver run through her spine. "What an awful person."

"You should be ashamed, ribbit," Tsuyu agreed.

Aizawa turned to face the classes once more. There shouldn't be much of a problem. Even if Kofuku was to play with their emotions in an attempt to escape, there were twenty young heroes and several police officers in the vicinity. Once they handed him over to the authorities, there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

"I'll make sure he's prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Aizawa. "As for the rest of you, since you're all minors and none of us really want to press charges, you'll most likely be let off with a warning. Although the police will look over all of you to make sure no lingering effects of Kofuku's ability is on you."

Kofuku suddenly jerked forwards. Everyone turned to look. Another body tumbled off from the roof and landed in the dirt.

Everyone recognized her as their costume designer. "That's…!"

"Kijinuu-senpai!" Sero, Ashido, and Mineta gasped.

The poor girl was tied up in a thin metallic string and muzzled. She was crying, tears streaming down her face as she struggled in her bindings. Attached to her stomach seemed to be a strange device that was making a beeping sound every few seconds. A bomb. And the switch that would set it off was in Kofuku's hand.

"I suggest letting me go," Kofuku laughed. "Unless you want her to die."

Iida's knuckles turned white. "What a cowardly tactic!"

"Fight us man to heroes!" Kirishima shouted.

The group tried to advance forward but they found their feet stuck to the ground. Looking down, they saw a white substance that pooled around their feet, keeping them from moving. The source of the substance was one of the handcuffed students, Sachuu Noriko.

"Ah, that's right," Kofuku chuckled. "My compatriot wishes to be free as well."

"You're with him?!" Sero gasped.

"I knew I didn't like you for a reason," Ashido grumbled.

Noriko didn't seem bothered by their statements. "All I care about in this world is money. If I get paid enough, then I don't care what I have to do." He then glanced over to Eigaku. "You can join us, if you're interested. I'm sure my dad will be disappointed if both of us disappear though."

The two were neighbors. Noriko was the son of the man who lived under the bridge. And it had been Eigaku to convince Noriko to go for U.A. But it was obvious that Eigaku had no idea about this side to his neighbor or his allegiance to Kofuku. Even so, there was still a difference between them.

"Noriko," said Eigaku. "I've had a friend betray me before, you know."

He raised a brow. "Hm?"

Some of them could easily break out of the glue but there was still the question of what to do about Kijinuu. They couldn't act rashly or else she would die. Who knew how big the explosion would be too. The police nearby were unsure of their next action so they glanced between the criminal and the pro her and their lead detective, looking for some sort of direction.

Kofuku's smirk grew wider as he raised the switch. "At the count of three, you release me and Noriko. Give us a few seconds of a head start… and then I'll leave this detonator on the ground. You can chase me all you want after that. One..."

"I'm such a fool," Eigaku muttered.

"Two…"

"To be tricked like that."

"Three!"

Eigaku's head snapped up. "Hebime! Souichi!"

The girl's glasses were flung right off her face by a wind that passed through. She glared directly at Kofuku and he froze up suddenly, unable to move. Souichi then teleported, reappearing by Kijinuu's side and holding wire clippers which he used to free her. The wind and the tools were provided with Eigaku's Quirk. He even imagined a knife to cut free Souichi.

Noriko attempted to secrete more glue from his body. But Houseki freed herself from the hardened glue by hardening her body and then went over to knock him out. Souichi then threw the bomb upwards where Eigaku imagined a metal container to close around it. Hebime released her captive and he jerked, accidentally pushing the button and an explosion went off. Juroku used his Quirk to push everyone down, avoiding any injury caused in the aftermath.

Once they were certain they were safe, Aizawa stood back up. "Looks like your bargaining chip is gone."

"No…," Kofuku croaked. "My plan… You… Eigaku… you're going to side with them?!"

The other boy looked back at Kofuku. "I just don't like you."

 **Name** : Kofuku Kanji

 **Alter-Ego** : None

 **Quirk** : Empathetic Voice, can manipulates a person's emotions so long as they hear him say a sentence starting with "I feel" or some variation of that.

 **Reason for Revenge** : In part, to avenge his father who had been taken down and captured by the pro hero Eraserhead. But also because he found it enjoyable to mess with people. A trait that he seemed to have inherited from his parent.

Kofuku and Noriko were both arrested. The former was muzzled for good measure as they were tossed into the back of a truck. The others would go in a separate vehicle, going in one at a time so that they could have one more chance with class A.

"Yaoyorozu-san, Todoroki-san," said Houseki, "I don't know if I'll become a hero. I still haven't been relinquished from the chains of my father. But I'll figure out my path someday. If we ever meet again… I hope we can be friends."

"Mm," Todoroki nodded. "I'm sure you'll do great no matter what you decide to do."

Yaoyorozu smiled brightly. "Houseki, you and I are already friends."

Souichi and Souji both knew from the very start that becoming heroes wasn't their thing. But they never knew how to broach the subject with their parents who wanted so badly to see them become heroes in a society that reveres the profession. Souichi had actually wanted to be an actor on the stage while Souji wanted to become an astronaut. It was decided on that day that they would finally tell their parents this.

"It's a bit of a shame," Bakugou scoffed. "You would've made a pretty good hero… Mister E."

"I look forward to seeing you aim for number one," Souichi retorted, "Blasty McSplode."

"Shitty Hair! What did you tell him?!"

Souji bowed to the three students he had fought against. "I don't know how to ever repay you for your kindness."

"Don't mention it," said Jirou. "Just… try not to get into trouble again."

"We'll be rooting for you," Ojiro smiled.

Hebime was also unsure of what she really wanted to do in the future. The only reason she applied for the hero course at U.A. was because everyone seemed to like her more if they thought she was going to be something big. But the good thing about being young was that she didn't have to know right away.

"Thank you for everything," Hebime said to Tokoyami and Shouji. She suddenly started fidgeting and her face turned tomato red. "And also, um… well… these are for you!" She pushed slips of paper into their hands before hopping into the truck.

Tokoyami blinked a few times before looking at the paper. "This is…"

"Her phone number," Shouji remarked.

"You two were flirting with her?!" Mineta suddenly yelled, attacking them with his pop-off balls. "Don't tell me you guys—!"

Dark Shadow lashed out at him. "Cut it out!"

Unlike most of the others, Juroku still planned on become a hero. But even though Aizawa offered to help any of them get back into U.A. if they so wished since there was a third party interference, Juroku declined. He wanted to become a hero while sticking to the hand that had been dealt to him. He also felt that he still hadn't fully forgiven himself yet for hurting class A.

"I'll definitely become a hero that surpasses you though," Juroku stated to Uraraka.

"I look forward to it," she nodded. "But… a word of advice, maybe use a different hero name?"

Juroku chuckled lightly. "Yeah… I thought about that too. See you around."

Gorisaki realized that he wanted to become a politician. If he was going to make changes to the society as a whole, then it wasn't enough just to be a positive role model. He wanted to get at it from the source by pushing forward new legislation that truly made people of all Quirks feel equal.

"It's an admirable goal," Satou nodded.

Koda personally knew what it was like to judged by appearances as well. It wasn't fun. "Good luck with your goal."

"Just don't ever turn to villainy again!" Hagakure chided.

"I won't make promises," Gorisaki laughed. "But I'll try my best."

Guson still wanted to be a hero but for the time being, he was going to work hard at his father's restaurant. Besides, it wouldn't be too late for a career change. Fat Gum started out as a police officer after all. So his start line was still a little ways away but it was in sight.

"Jeez," Guson muttered. "I got so hyped on revenge that I even got a mohawk."

"You mean that was the influence of Kofuku?" Iida inquired.

"His Quirk can even force you to make bad fashion decisions?" Aoyama gasped.

Guson played around with the spikes on his head. "I'll have to get this fixed."

Kijinuu was only going along with the police to give her testimony. It was also clear that she was dealing with some trauma thanks to becoming a sudden hostage. But she assured everyone that she would be okay and they might even see her in school the next day.

"If you guys ever need new support items," Kijinuu smiled, "Hatsume and I will be there."

That just left Eigaku. Unfortunately, there was no place for him to go. The police found that his legal guardian was his aunt but she hadn't seen him in years. It wasn't like Eigaku wasn't allowed to go to her house, he just assumed that she didn't want him there since she never really tried to take him. So officer Tsukauchi said they would call her down at the station and see from there.

"Eigaku," said Aizawa. "I don't know how much you trust in my word but I think… you would make a great movie director."

Midoriya joined his teacher, nodding in agreement. "Throughout this week, you worked hard on the movie along with us. Even if it was all a ploy… you still worked us to the bone to make sure every scene was perfect. I think… that could be your new dream!"

Eigaku did enjoy directing. The whole reason why he kept putting off attacking class A was because he was having so much fun as a director. But doing so kept reminding him of his best friend and biggest fans. Even though directing was fun… it was also one of the most difficult things for him to do because it reminded him of worser times.

"Thank you," Eigaku muttered. He looked over at the group of people, everyone was smiling more than he had ever seen them before. That's when he remembered something important. "By the way… the footage was destroyed in the fighting, right? I have backup files on a flash drive in the control room."

"Really?" Midoriya gasped. "That's great! Everyone worked really hard!"

"Be sure the movie is a hit," Eigaku stated before getting on board.

"I will… and Eigaku-san," Midoriya called. "Let's meet again someday."

Eigaku couldn't help feeling that the smile on the younger boy's face was reminiscent of the hero he had looked up to so much. So with a similar expression on his own as the doors were shut by the police, he said, "Sure, one day, Midoriya."

-X-

The twenty students of class 1-A sat in the darkened classroom, watching the final scene of their film projected onto the chalkboard. They watched as Yaoyorozu walked down the aisle in a gorgeous white wedding dress and taking the side of a white suited Todoroki. Midoriya played the best man and Uraraka was the maid of honor. But the most amusing thing in the scene was Iida keeping a watchful eye over the arms-crossed former scourge, Bakugou, in the front row.

The reverend, played by Ashido in a black suit and sunglasses, told the happy couple to "kiss."

Yaoyorozu had to cover her burning red face, unable to watch the scene even if she knew they didn't actually go through with it. Uraraka and Hagakure let out happy squeals watching it happen on screen though. It looked so real thanks to the angling of the camera shot and the cleverly aligned doves. The credits then began to roll with Ashido breaking out into a dance and some upbeat music playing.

"Wow, the movie came out really well!" Midoriya remarked.

Kaminari grinned widely at Jirou. "You've got some killer editing skills!"

"Thanks," Jirou chuckled. "I still think some cuts were jumpy though."

"We ended up handing it in late though," Satou sighed.

Monoma from class B had given them the usual amount of crap for that. "Oh? You guys got in a fight amongst each other and had to delay shooting? Class B already finished their movie already! Aren't you guys supposed to be better than us?"

"I'll kill you!" Bakugou had snapped but not before Kendo knocked him out.

Class B had made a high school drama complete with a love triangle. Monoma and Awase were both pining after Ibara, the quiet pretty girl. Kendo, regretfully played the mean popular girl along with her jock boyfriend, Tetsutetsu. Apparently, most of the class didn't have much fun with the genre but had to go through with it. They seemed to like the fantasy setting of class A's film though.

"It was one hell of a week," Ojiro sighed.

"But it was fun at least," said Kirishima.

Everyone dissolved into idle chatter about how much they enjoyed shooting and watching the movie and about the friends they had made. Aizawa and All Might watched from the front of the class. They'd bring up the next lesson but they felt like the students needed a break after all that chaos.

"These kids are always getting into trouble," said All Might.

"I know," Aizawa sighed, "and it was my fault this time."

"Now don't say that, it could've been anyone."

Aizawa felt like he had learned his own lesson this time around. But for the most part, he was just glad that everyone had made it out okay and they were still able to smile as brightly as they did before. "Let's hope nothing bad happens during the culture festival. They have to start preparing for it soon."

"They'll be fine."

Class A always got into trouble. Whether it was because they rushed headlong into it or because some crazed villains were after them. But after everything, Aizawa felt like they could handle almost anything that life had to throw at them. Well, he would be there to continue guiding them for a little while longer. If they ever needed help, they could count on him.


End file.
